Monday, April 06, 2009

Full & Robust Wisdom by J. Randal Matheny

One of my favorite moments of almost each day is when my copy of that days writing from Forthright Magazine comes. It is an assembly of a group of Christians who love scripture and the trust found therein and unabashedly proclaim the scripture. I was very uplifted by the writing contained within it today by J. Randal Matheny. I normally just link to things I find pleasing online but I often wonder how many people follow those links and actually read what is posted. Therefore, I feel that this writing deserves to be posted in its entirety on my site and the link to it can be found within the title below. Please read, process, and enjoy.


"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." 1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV

Keeping all your options open means losing the one that offers it all. And choosing any other option besides Christ means giving up all that matters.

The minute you claim to be a Paulite or a Peterite or a Selfite, you squeeze Christ out of your faith. No way can you pledge allegiance to a person, system or line of thinking in religion and still be one of Christ's.

Power and eloquence, strength and wisdom, force and knowledge are the twin suns of human ambition. Jews sought a powerful sign, the Greeks panted after a word to make their leg tingle.

Even for today's atomized, individualized buffet of religious preferences, Paul still has much to say in 1 Corinthians. The Way is no pick-and-choose menu. Christ is all there is.

The paradox of such limitation to One means that we get access to all he is. And in him God has packed everything.

God's wisdom is not merely a glib tongue. It fixes all the world's ills and bills.

His wisdom is righteousness: Christ settles up our account.

Our debts with God run beyond trillions. No amount of juggling figures can make the books balance. No human stimulus bill, nor a dozen repeats, can put things on solid footing again. Not even Superman could keep this disaster from happening. Divine intervention became necessary.

His wisdom is holiness: Christ cleans up our mess.

The environmentalists, if they could pluck their heads from the rising oceans and grasp the spiritual, would faint over this pollution. Mankind needs more than a takeover of the automakers to cut the smoky emissions from our sin-producing engines. Human efforts accomplish less to erase our transgression than the symbolic black-out to protest the eco-nuts' latest alleged disaster. With a single swipe, God cleansed the human race.

His wisdom is redemption: Christ releases us from our entanglements.

God's plan of salvation is the biggest buy-back offer ever made. Still going after millenia. Still plenty of funds for more purchases of enslaved humans. His aggressive campaign has not lagged and will go full-steam until the end.

All this available globally, if you believe, are willing to change your life habits and will commit fully by plunging into water to find spiritual cleansing.

With a complete package in this Christ-wisdom, we've no need to go anywhere else. God has put it all in Christ.

Now that's smart!

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