by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Our Deliverance Is from God

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:22-24 English Standard Version

All human creatures share the recognition that something is wrong in the world, and that what is wrong needs to be put right. However, we don’t all agree how this is done.

Paul states that, for some people, putting things right in the world involves looking for signs. Some people need something tangible to prove that God is who he says he is, people who want a St. Paul conversion experience that is unquestionable and changes the world around them.

He also states that, for some people, putting things right in the world involves seeking wisdom. Some people need a logical explanation for the existence of God and the redeeming work of this God. Everything would be okay if the world made logical sense.

However, for those of us who have been called by God, this baby is both the power of God and the wisdom of God even when the world doesn’t make sense.

This baby is our sign. He is the power of God to do what we cannot do. The baby is a sign in human frailty that God cares about our sinful condition.

This baby is our wisdom. He is the wisdom of God that puts all our attempts at wisdom to shame. How contrary to our human wisdom that God would come to us in weakness.

Paul reminds us that deliverance from this broken world does not reside in us but in God. Even though we too might look for signs that prove who God is or seek after wisdom, this baby is all we need because this baby is the only means for our deliverance from the pain and struggles of this sin-filled world.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado