Thought for the Month - March 2005
The Fool - By Barry Adair
When the famous preacher, D. L. Moody, was conducting evangelistic meetings, he frequently faced hecklers. In the final service of one campaign, an usher handed him a note. It was from an atheist who had been giving Mr. Moody a great deal of trouble. The evangelist, however, supposed it was an announcement so he quieted the large audience and prepared to read it.
Opening the folded piece of paper, he found scrawled in large print only one word: "Fool!"
Moody, however, was equal to the occasion. He said, "I've just been handed a memo which contains the single word 'Fool'. This is most unusual. I've heard of those who wrote letters and forgot to sign their names, but this is the first time I've ever heard of anyone who signed his name and then forgot to write the letter!"
Taking advantage of the unique situation, Moody promptly changed his sermon text to Psalm 53, verse 1 (also Psalm 14, verse 1), "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God!'"
I want to think of FOOLS this month, both what the world calls a fool and what the Bible calls a fool. Funnily enough, they are totally different!
In the above verses, the Bible is pretty clear (even blunt) to state that a person who says there is no God, is a fool. If you notice, the words are "says there is no God". I think this speaks of 'choosing to believe' rather than 'knowing this to be the case'.
As humankind was created in the image of God, as someone has phrased it, there is a 'God shaped hole' inside all of us. On a side issue, this is the reason people without God never feel wholly satisfied with their life, no matter what manner of riches or possessions they have. And what about humankind’s general knowledge of right and wrong - hardly a likely end product of evolution!
There is the other obvious reason to believe in a Creator God, the awesome universe we live in. The overall design of the universe constantly amazes the most intelligent minds on our planet. And to every other good example of a good ‘design’ lies an intelligent designer - why would the universe be any different!
Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork"
We may not be able to know or to prove the certainty of God's existence if we look only at the natural world. But the hypothesis at least cannot be denied, except foolishly. There is exquisite design and order in the created world, all the more remarkable when we observe it emerging from chaos. It is foolish to say categorically in the face of this, "There is no God".
On top of all this, we have God’s revealed Word to us in both the Bible and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God revealed Himself in Jesus of Nazareth. The testimony about this Person's existence, and about His crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, is in the form of written eye-witness documents. The story of Jesus Christ is a matter of fact, not of superstition.
1 John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth"
There are no reasonable grounds for rejecting such evidence.
Of course, in the world today, to believe in a God who made everything and to whom we will have to give an account of our life some day, is laughed at. We are told that we are believing in fairy tales. .. Man is not answerable to anyone. .. There is no such thing as Heaven or Hell. .. Man can do anything he wants to. .. Look out for number one as no one is looking out for you. .. Man is responsible for his own destiny.
What arrogance!
Prov. 28:26 "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool"
A fool cannot think of himself as mistaken (see Prov. 17:10).
What the world calls 'foolish' is in reality wisdom. Conversely, what the world deems 'wise' in actually foolish. The Apostle Paul says that unbelievers actually know the truth about God, but they suppress that truth in unrighteousness. That is, they know the Christian God, but because they do not want to submit to Him, they run from Him and suppress their knowledge of Him.
You are no fool if you believe in God. You are only foolish if you deny He exists. Let God reveal Himself to you through His Word, the Bible. Become intimately acquainted with the one true God.
And if you don’t know this God? Then please don't make the mistake of thinking that you can make it on your own. You know in your heart that you are guilty before God. No one else can help you because we all have sinned against God. So then heed the warning which God gives, and run for safety to the only One who can help, the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust Him, and be saved.
Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!