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When God gives you an opportunity, just smile, pull out a copy of If We Never Meet Again or What If No One Warned You? and say, "Here's something I think you'll enjoy reading!"
April 18, 2024
- By Ed Powell
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"God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; and the base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." 1 Corinthians 1:27-29
If you were going to build a strong and secure house, what tools and materials would you choose? I have tried to repair a few things around my house, using my favorite role model, Rube Goldberg. He is a fictional character who, by his own ingenuity, came up with very unorthodox ways of doing things, primarily because he didn't know how to do the repair or didn't have the right tools for the task. He improvised in many questionable ways. Most of the time he got the job done, BUT the finished product and method of getting it done were "outlandishly classic."
I have a friend, Roy Arvesen, who is a master carpenter. He always does his work a little differently than I do. First, he knows the right way to do the work, and second, he uses the right tools to do the job in a professional way. Other than that, I have no problem. I have used butcher knives to cut electric wires and crayons to mark a line. I cut wood with a coping saw for the lack of a regular saw, use nails for screws and screws for nails, and use Elmer's glue to hold things together. You get the picture.
I've learned a lot from my friend. For example, he never does anything without getting his level to make sure everything is straight and in plumb. I never worry about such insignificant matters; I just take a good look and proceed. When I saw him tear out something that didn't fit just right, I thought it was a waste of time. I would simply get my hammer and bang it a few times until it "fits." If he would just do things "my way," I could save him a lot of time. But then I noticed that, long after what he did was still in place, secure, erect, and sturdy. Mine? Oh well, it fell apart some time ago!
When Jesus chose those He would use to build His kingdom and spread the gospel, it's very interesting to recognize the "tools" He used. He could have gone to the Jews and found men loyal to their traditions, customs, and creeds; to the Greeks for men of much learning and great intellect; or to the scribes and Pharisees for those who minutely followed the law, keeping all its precepts as prescribed. That would have made an "impressive toolbox." There was only one problem. Like my tools, they were not the "right tools" to do the job correctly.
What "tools" did He choose? Let's take a look. He chose the "foolish things of the world" to confound the wise, the "weak things" to confound the mighty, the "base things" and the "things which are despised," and the "things which are not" to bring to naught the things that are, that "no flesh should glory in His presence."
WHY? Because the Jews, Greeks, and Pharisees were filled with selfish pride, enlarged egos that influenced their lives, and an elevated self-esteem above their fellow men. God could not use such tools. He wanted men through which He could work as "channels of blessing," who could be tools in the hands of the Master Carpenter. Through these few uneducated disciples, He turned the world upside down!
© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.
This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2024-04-18
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