And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:13

Years ago I had the funeral of a young man.

The lad's father was a Christian and a member of my church; the mother was neither.

A few days after the funeral, I paid a follow-up visit to the family. It wasn't a bad visit, at least until the moment when the mother said, "You know, I wish I could believe what you said at our son's funeral, but I can't. I believe that you live and you die, and that's it. I'm going to cry for my son and for all of us who are going to miss him, but I'm not going to try and pretend we're going to get together someday in one long, never-ending reunion. It's just not going to happen."

That lady, along with much of this world, holds fast to the creed which says, "Here today, gone tomorrow."

Those who adhere to such a philosophy think that Christianity is a crutch, a spiritual support, a mental prop, which holds up those who aren't strong enough, smart enough, able enough to face life's troubles and tragedies, struggles and scuffles on their own. They believe the Christian religion is utter gibberish, total nonsense, a mighty mass of inconsistencies, a hodgepodge of the ridiculous, ludicrous and preposterous.

You know, it always amazes me that people who don't believe in Christ spend so much time and expend so many words trying to convince us that we are wrong.

But what amazes me even more is the fact these critics, whether they realize it or not, often reveal a kernel of truth in their words. For example, is Christianity a crutch which holds up those who aren't able to face life's troubles? Absolutely! The fact is anyone who believes he can deal with the great problems of life and death by himself is living in a delusion. On our own we cannot eliminate sin or its results, and on our own we are doomed to eternal death. If we are to be rescued from sin, Satan, death and ourselves, we are going to need a Savior.

This takes us to the second truth these critics of Christianity show us. It is ridiculous, ludicrous and preposterous to think that the perfect Lord would care about His lost children. Even so, He does care. And although it may not make any sense to us, He cared enough to send His only Son into this world to fulfill the Law, resist temptation, carry our sins, and die the death we deserve.

Logically, it is nonsense to believe that God would do that for us, but that is what happened. In His grace God gave us the Rescuer we needed and through the Holy Spirit's power, we are given the faith, which can rescue us from eternal damnation.

Now I pray these critics may also meet and believe in our wonderfully unbelievable Lord.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, we can understand why You would be disappointed and angry with Your disobedient children, but we cannot comprehend why You would go to such great lengths to save us. May we be eternally grateful You aren't motivated by what we and others find to be logical. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Proverbs 13-15    Acts 2:1-21

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