Blog

May 28, 2025 06:00am

Foolishness that Saves

130 Views

The doctor enters the room.

Everyone breathes a quick sigh of relief and gets back to work.

The young woman is about to become a mother. She’s ready to deliver, and that baby isn’t waiting any longer.

The nurse asks the doctor what kept him so long, and he says, “I just finished an autopsy, and it took longer than expected.”

And he went straight to work.

Is that shocking? What questions run through your mind? The first question for me is, did he wash his hands?

But before 1847, this was actually normal—to go from one patient to the next without ever washing your hands. As if you were going from cleaning out the chicken coop to planting a rose bush. They didn’t think twice about germs because, well, they couldn’t see them.

Puerperal fever was rampant among maternity wards. A doctor by the name of Ignaz Semmelweis was determined to figure out a solution. He discovered that hand washing prevented the spread of diseases between patients. He demanded that all who entered the maternity ward wash their hands with a chlorinated lime solution. And do you know what they saw? The mortality rate among babies decreased significantly.

What we know to be true seemed like foolishness to the medical community. It was years before they took him seriously. Even after seeing the difference it made, they couldn’t bring themselves to believe this was the key to saving lives.

But he didn’t let that stop him from advocating for the lives of his patients and encouraging and fighting for hand washing.

1 Corinthians 1:18
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

The people of Corinth were a diverse people group. Remember, this is a major coastal city, lots of ships coming in with trade, making it a very prosperous city. The Romans had made it the capital city of what is now modern-day Greece. It was widely known to be a city where independence, philosophy, and self-indulgence flourished.

When these people heard the gospel… a message of God sending His Son to die for their sins. A message of forgiveness. A message of moral standards and surrender to a King that was not of this world. A message that they were destined for eternal punishment and death if they didn’t turn to the Lord… they thought it was foolishness.

Paul knew this. He had lived it.

He was once Saul, the Pharisee, determined to rid the world of these rebels, these followers of Christ. He persecuted Christians for their belief in Jesus. He too thought it was foolishness.

Until Jesus stopped him in his tracks.

He encountered Christ and was completely changed. Jesus called him away from that life and put him on a new path to share this good news—that ALL could be forgiven if they would repent and turn to the Lord.

Paul knew what the believers in Corinth were up against. Philosophers who thought they were wise beyond their years, “worldly” people who were determined to live in the here and now and only thought about their happiness and pleasure, and businessmen who relied on these types of people to earn a living selling their goods and services. It was a corrupt city where idolatry flourished.

19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,
29 so that no one may boast before Him.
30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Isn’t it like God to use something weak to surprise the strong? Paul encouraged the believers of Corinth to trust in the Lord to use them in spite of their weaknesses, to remember that the very power that raised Christ from the dead lives within them.

Does Paul need to encourage us with that same thing today?

Good grief, look around! This world isn’t any different than Corinth. It’s still full of people who believe they know it all, others who are only focused on their pleasures and instant gratification, and corruption because of the almighty dollar.

If you feel like a nobody, a tiny speck on this planet, believe me—God can use you. Think about it: how much greater would His glory shine if it came from someone like us? The weak, the used up, the broken, the humble… we are a testament to the power of God, a walking testimony of His grace, love, forgiveness, and power!

Let that propel you forward today, with the confidence of Christ within you! He has the power to save! Share it! Tell them, for God so loved the world…

Learn more about Jesus. Learn more about how to share His love and forgiveness. Learn more about following Him. Go to follow.lifeword.org or follow.lifeword.org/spanish.