Day 2804 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV

Call it being misunderstood. Call it being rejected. Call it being labeled an outsider, a weirdo, a Jesus freak, an idiot. Call it whatever you want, the bottom line is that our faith makes us different because it runs violently against the grain of normality. It makes no sense to a world following hearts bent toward sin. It seems foolish to a people who find freedom in being limited to this world. It seems unnecessary to a society built on limboing under expectations and blowing past moral considerations.

The message of the cross is truly foolish to those who are happy living in the dark and facing an impending demise that they're doing everything they can to pretend isn't coming.

We've been discussing the evidence of God over the last couple of days, and the very fact that a small few manage to find humility that leads to believing in Christ among a creation that only knows rebellion is without a doubt the best evidence for God's existence. Because it goes against everything that everyone knows to be normal. In this world of wanton disregard toward all things holy and righteous and upright and wholesome and moral, the fact that anyone would choose to build their lives upon those highly uncommon values proves that there's a Higher Power at work.

Let's just be honest, most of still wrestle with doubt. We still find ourselves looking up and wondering if it's all real. We still sit around in the middle of life's challenges and find ourselves questioning if we're spinning our wheels or wasting our time or placing our hope and trust in a figment of our imagination. We still have those moments where we wonder either where God is, or what He's doing, or if He's even paying attention, or if He's there at all.

That's our human nature. As we discussed yesterday, our natural instinct is to rebel. It's to doubt. It's to question and deny and avoid. We want nothing to do with rules or limits or expectations or requirements or humility or sacrifice or self-control. All we've ever known is a world where those things are clearly seen as foolish and unwelcome. So why would we welcome them into our lives and choose to basically self-limit the things that we'll allow ourselves to do? Why would we forego the enjoyment and excitement and pleasure that we see much of the rest of the world enjoying in exchange for a life of penance and submissiveness?

Again, it's all foolishness on the surface! This world makes it clear that people are free to do as they please. Let nothing slow you down. Let nothing hinder your pleasure. The more you sin, the stronger you are. The more graphic the display of selfishness, the more praise you receive. The more wanton the disregard of anything moral or decent, the more highly touted you become.

And the more you go against all that, the more you're hated. The more you speak the truth, the more friction you face. The more you speak warning of the dangers of sin, the more persecution you face. The more you reflect Christ and speak of His message, the more rejection and judgement you endure.

So why do it? Why embrace the world's hatred? Why adhere to this path that brings only struggle and strife? Why do what's very clearly considered foolish when all it's ever going to bring is misunderstanding and misery?

Because we see beyond the surface. We feel more than worldly fear. We now seek something bigger than social praise. We've had this truth that's invaded our hearts leaving that innate desire to rebel completely broken and dying. We find hope in something more than a comfortable life that's going to end anyway. We find peace in something deeper than just being liked and accepted. We know the truth, and that truth has truly set us free in a way that this world simply cannot understand as they willfully choose to keep their eyes closed and their hearts hardened.

It is foolish to follow Christ in a world that clearly wants no part of it. It is silly to adhere to rules and limits and self-control when so many are in no way doing so and yet still finding roaring success in the process. It is insane to reject this world's normal in exchange for a life of hardship and persecution. And the fact that it makes no sense is what makes the power of our faith make sense.

The only reason anyone would go against the grain when millions are welcoming them into the fold is because they know there's a bigger reward than social acceptance and worldly comfort. The cross is foolish to those who refuse to accept it, because light makes no sense when you’re used to living in the dark. But to those who see the truth in it, who feel the weight of their guilt, who can't outrun the truth of who they've been and all the wrongs they've done, to them it's hope. It's peace. It's joy. It's love. It's salvation. It's mercy. It's eternal.

It’s the power of God to pierce the darkness that’s long enveloped our souls and set us free from the captivity that we always knew was holding us hostage yet felt powerless to overcome as much of the world refuses to fight for more and we ourselves lost that ability to fight as well.

And that's all far bigger than anything this world has or can offer.

Oddly enough, the faithful choose faith because it's hard. We find joy in the hate it brings our way. We recognize rejection as proof that this world is losing its grip on us. We understand that being persecuted means that the world doesn't like us, and when the world loves everything evil, being hated means we might be doing something right. We seek our company not in the companionship of the world but in the embrace of our Savior, even if it means living our lives as misunderstood outcasts who aren't welcome in this place.

As Isaiah puts it in chapter 50 of his book, "I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced." How's that for a glimpse into the mindset of all these few weirdos who choose to call themselves Christians in a place bent on doing everything to go against Christ!

We welcome the hate. We embrace the hardship. We appreciate the rejection and disapproval of the world around us. We offer our backs to those who wish to beat us for speaking the truth of God's Word. We turn our cheeks toward the blows coming from a sinful mob. We do not hide, do not run, do not cower, do not fear, do not give up. All because to hide or run or cower or live in fear of man and give up following Christ because of it is the only kind of disgrace we know. Being hated and beaten and even potentially killed isn't disgraceful to us. It's a badge of honor!

Yep, you can say that we're weird. And we thank you for it! You can say the message of the cross is foolish, and we happily welcome that rebuke. Because to us, if the world says it's foolish then it must be right because honestly, this world is completely upside down and lost in a darkness we don't want to understand. So if we're misunderstood by those who happily understand darkness, then I guess we're closer to the light!

Friends, my whole point is that we need to cling to our faith no matter what the world thinks of it. This place will never understand why we do what we do because it goes against everything they can see and feel and wrap their minds around. After all, it's just hard to see the light of Christ when you're so used to the shadows of sin and more than happy staying there.

As the world spins further out of control, our lives spent following Christ will only grow increasingly unwelcome. So be it. We shouldn't run from that but embrace it. We should be ecstatic to be seen as weirdos because that just proves that we're not like this place.

The message of the cross always be foolish to those who are perishing in their sins because the cross conveys the need for a salvation that much of humanity simply doesn't think they need. But to those of us who can see beyond our pride and arrogance and ego, that cross is proof of a love that is the only thing big enough to give us hope in something better than what we know we really deserve.

So let the world hate us, that's just the way it's supposed to be. But do not let that hatred convince you that you're doing something wrong. Being hated by the world only means that we're in the very best company among those who went down this road of faith long before us. If our faith isn't welcome in this world, then we shouldn't expect to be either!

#LeaveNoSoulUntold