Feb 28 - "A Different Standard"

1 Corinthians 1:25-29 -- “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.”

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As we make our way through the world over the course of our lives, we are told and shown all of the things we must be, in order to be “successful”. The world describes our theoretical success in terms such as “rich”, “smart”, “good looking”, “strong”, “in control”, “powerful”, “beautiful”...the list goes on and on. These standards can seem, at times, unachievable, causing us to do things and behave in ways which are far from our true selves.

But what if all of it were a lie? What if there is a different standard? The good news, brothers and sisters? There is.

Can you imagine what it would be like if a relationship with God, if being forgiven, if receiving His grace and mercy, required a certain level of wisdom, a defined set of acts and behavior or even physical strength? We would all be in a pretty big mess if that were the case. Fortunately, all we have to do is believe. Believe that God, in His perfect wisdom and strength, sent His Son to die for each of us so that we might be forgiven then, now and always, acknowledging our brokenness and accepting His beauty.

When we are broken and at are lowest, when we have missed the mark, God is there for us in all things and in all ways. When we call on Him, He picks us up, brushes us off and considers us as good as new. We can fail and fall to this point hundreds, even thousands of times and He will continue to love us and each time desire us to come back to Him. God does not keep count.

We are so fortunate that God uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect will.

So, be comforted in the fact that God does not require us to be wise; He does not require us to be strong; He does not require us to be above all things. God is all of these things for us whenever we need them. When we empty ourselves of the things the world tells us we should be, for each of us: He is wise; He is strong; He is above all.