Thought for the Month - April 2021

"April fool" by Barry Adair

The fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 14:1, partial verse, KJV) Well, that is certainly the wisdom from the Bible, and specifically from King David. And if you read through the book of Proverbs you will see how many times King Solomon speaks about fools and of their folly too.

April 1, of course, is known as "April Fools' Day" in many parts of the world. And that was the reason for me thinking about fools this month. Now, as to the origin of April Fools' Day, it all seems to be a bit of a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the old "Julian" calendar to the new "Gregorian" calendar, as called for by the Roman Catholic Church in 1563. As the story goes, some people were slow to get the news and failed to recognize that the start of the New Year had moved to January 1 (from the end of March). As they continued to celebrate New Year during the last week of March and through to April 1, they therefore became the butt of many jokes.

Kids and teenagers are especially fond of April Fools gags, especially enacted on their parents. I still remember my teenage daughter holding a swollen belly and telling me she was pregnant! It seems my face told the story that I was taken in - hook, line and sinker! It was April 1st but that hadn't figured with me that particular day. My favourite April Fools prank was from 1957. I wasn't born then but remember my Dad telling me all about it. Back then, BBC TV had reported that Italian farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and they then showed footage of masses of limp spaghetti hanging from trees and bushes. Apparently, many people were totally taken in with the hoax and the older folk still talk about it on April Fools' Day.

So, is it fair to call someone a fool who doesn't believe in God? And even if it is fair, this would include many Christians too as there was a time when a lot of us didn't believe in God either. The Bible does seem to be clear that we are foolish in not believing in God…

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

We are also told that we are without excuse in not believing in a creator God…

For His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

Although I think I have always believed in God, I was initially very far from Him. And by the way, even if I thought this fact could stop me also being labelled as "foolish", there is always this verse to land me squarely back in the "foolish" bracket too…

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:27)

Yes, if I am chosen of God (and as a Christian, then I am!), then I am very much in the "foolish" category - as well as being weak. However, after our new birth (salvation), we are 'sealed' with the Holy Spirit. God Himself dwells within us! Although still very imperfect, and still foolish in many aspects of our lives, if we let Him God can take our simple foolish lives and use them to bring glory back unto Himself! And at the end of our days, God even promises us a home in heaven as joint heirs with Christ!

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7)

Not believing in God will have eternal consequences. And with what we now know about the Universe we live in, we have no real excuses for not believing in a creator God. And because Jesus died for us, we are promised forgiveness from all our sins, and an ultimate home in heaven. Why on earth would we ignore such a salvation from an infinitely loving and perfect God?

The fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God."

The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
And the rain came tumbling down.
And the rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rain came tumbling down.
And the rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand fell flat.

Until next month (DV)…

(All Bible quotations are from the ESB, unless stated)

Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!