Not Many Taylor Swifts

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”

I Corinthians 1:18-20

I wonder if unreached tribes in Africa have heard of Taylor Swift, she is getting so much publicity these days. I watched the Super Bowl, and they had more cutaways to Taylor Swift than to the players on the sidelines. Of course, when you pick up an extra 20 million fans the NFL wants to deliver.
 
Paul notes that the cross is folly to those who are perishing. We should not be surprised when unbelievers scoff or mock the gospel. To the non-Christian mind, the idea of God coming to earth, living a perfect life, and dying a sacrificial death on the cross seems absurd. The Bible tells us that, “…the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor 4:4) This means that left to themselves, non-Christians are doubly blind. They are spiritually dead and unresponsive to the things of God. In addition Satan blinds their minds!
 
This is how Paul describes the unbeliever, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:1-3). Notice that we were spiritually dead and caught up in our sins. We were also bent towards sin and disobedience. Further, Satan blinded people’s minds and they willfully, if unknowingly, followed his bidding.
 
This means that unless God breaks through, people would remain lost in their sins. God uses his word and his Spirit to open blind eyes, unclog plugged ears, clear up our sin-clouded minds, and change hearts of stone so that people are open and responsive. Paul points out that often God chooses to work in the hearts of the not famous and not influential. “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” (1 Cor 1:26). Ouch! He goes on, “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, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:27-29).
 
Thankfully, God saves people from every walk of life, every socio-economic stratum, and every demographic. No one is too far from the Lord that he cannot reach him. But often, God works in the hearts of plain, ordinary people who do not have fame and fortune. Sometimes it is the most unexpected and seemingly unlikely people who turn to Christ in faith.  Why me? Why you? It isn’t because we are better, smarter, or more worthy than other people. We may never overshadow a Super Bowl or be known by school children in Africa, but God has chosen what is foolish and weak to shame the world. This is amazing grace! How sweet the sound!