The Wisdom of Foolishness

He asked a teenager to risk her life by saying "yes" to His plan.  He orchestrated events so she would have to travel on the back of a donkey while very pregnant.  He filled the inns of Bethlehem to overflowing so she would wind up hidden in a stable.  He timed it perfectly so she went through labor on the floor far away from the help and comfort of her mother.  Her husband and some animals were the only witnesses to the birth.  The son of a King was born in obscurity.  The birth was made known only to those on the outskirts of society (the shepherds) and to those who weren't even part of the faith system waiting for their Messiah (the magi).  Stranger still, the infinite God of the Universe wrapped himself in finite flesh and lay helpless in the arms of one He had created.  The sustainer of life and breath was now dependent on others for everything.  Perhaps strangest of all was the culmination of the plan: the One who lived a sinless life would bear the sin of the world.  His stripes would bring us healing.  His death would ensure our eternal life.

When you look at it from the world's perspective, the plan doesn't really make much sense.  But that's kinda the point.  "This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans" (1 Corinthians 1:25 NLT).  We look at it and say, "What the heck?"  God looks at it and says, "It's the perfect plan; trust me."  It's a plan in which "God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.  And he chose things that were powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 NLT, emphasis added).  If the plan had been made according to the world's wisdom, the "unlovable" would still be unloved; the "invisible" would still be ignored; the lost and hurting would still be alone and unhealed; the poor would be poorer; the hopeless would have no hope; and sin would still enslave us all.  Instead, Christ loved the unlovable, spent time with the invisible, sought out the lost and brought them home again, healed the hurting, directed us to care for the poor, brought hope to the hopeless, and broke the chains of sin once and for all.

So when the plan doesn't seem to make sense, remember the Christmas story.  Remember that God is doing things His way... and it's the plan that results in the best for you.  There is wisdom in the seeming foolishness.