Christianity is Foolish

It really is.. It's like Alice in the Looking Glass:

"Now, if you'll only attend, Kitty, and not talk so much, I'lltell you all my ideas about Looking-glass House. First, there's the room you can see through the glass -- that's just the same as our drawing room, only the things go the other way. I can see all of it when I get upon a chair -- all but the bit behind the fireplace. Oh! I do so wish I could see THAT bit! I want so much to know whether they've a fire in the winter: you never CAN tell, you know, unless our fire smokes, and then smoke comes up in that room too -- but that may be only pretence, just to make it look as if they had a fire. Well then, the books are something like our books, only the words go the wrong way; I know that, because I've held up one of our books to the glass, and then they hold up one in the other room. `How would you like to live in Looking-glass House, Kitty? I wonder if they'd give you milk in there? Perhaps Looking-glass milk isn't good to drink -- But oh, Kitty! now we come to the passage. You can just see a little PEEP of the passage in Looking-glass House, if you leave the door of our drawing-room wide open: and it's very like our passage as far as you can see, only you know it may be quite different on beyond. Oh, Kitty! How nice it would be if we could only get through into Looking-glass House! I'm sure it's got, oh! such beautiful things in it! Let's pretend there's a way of getting through into it, somehow, Kitty. Let's pretend the glass has got all soft like gauze, so that we can get through. Why, it's turning into a sort of mist now, I declare! It'll be easy enough to get through -- ' She was up on the chimney-piece while she said this, though she hardly knew how she had got there. And certainly the glass WAS beginning to melt away, just like a bright silvery mist. In another moment Alice was through the glass, and had jumped lightly down into the Looking-glass room. The very first thing she did was to look whether there was a fire in the fireplace, and she was quite pleased to find that there was a real one, blazing away as brightly as the one she had left behind. `So I shall be as warm here as I was in the old room,' thought Alice: `warmer, in fact, because there'll be no one here to scold me away from the fire. Oh, what fun it'll be, when they see me through the glass in here, and can't get at me!' Then she began looking about, and noticed that what could be seen from the old room was quite common and uninteresting, but that all the rest was a different as possible... ...Here something began squeaking on the table behind Alice, and made her turn her head just in time to see one of the White Pawns roll over and begin kicking: she watched it with great curiosity to see what would happen next...."

It doesn't make any sense. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. The smartest people aren't the most righteous? The meek inherit the earth. The kingdom belongs to the persecuted, the poor in spirit, those who thirst and hunger.

Things really only make you happy when you share them or give them away.

And unless you come like a child. Like a child. Unless you trust like a child, you will not understand.

It's exactly backwards.

God...why did you set it up this way, why is your way so foreign to us? Why when I try to explain to someone who isn't a citizen of the kingdom they say something like "You can't stand in the way of a bull and expect him not to charge you just because you are a vegetarian?" Or something equally clever (thanks for that one Ziegler) that makes me think 'no... of course I can't argue with that.' I can't argue Jesus. I can't make belief of a baby in a manger and mere death on a cross of ONE man make sense. I don't understand how that distinguishes eternal life and eternal shame.

That is... apart from the fact that it's true.

I cannot make it make sense to you. But it makes sense to me.

I can, however tell you how many times I've doubted and had questions or struggled with something and a voice, a voice, a personal, unbelievably strong, loving voice answers and brings encouragement and wisdom. Sure maybe it's power of suggestion, maybe it's all in my head.

But it isn't.

17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
20[Lindsey], guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.

The kingdom of God makes no sense. But it is a better kingdom. I cannot prove it. But it's not my job to prove it. It's my job to live it. The best that I can. With help from God himself.