Which Kind of Fool are You?
When God saves one of His elect children, he or she grows increasingly unmoved by the opinions of the world. The world is filled with human pride, especially the pride of knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, even for those who are ever-learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 3:7).
Jesus Christ is the truth (Jn 14:6). He is also the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24). When God reveals Himself, He does so to confound the wisdom of the world. In other words, the pride of man will never boast in discovering God.
The paradox of receiving the grace of God, unto salvation, is the joy of the Lord and the scorn of the world (Jn 15:18–25). The fool says in his heart, “There is no God (Ps 14:1; 53:1),” but the fool for Christ says, “My Lord and my God.” The difference is the knowledge of Christ, brought by the Spirit of Christ, through the preaching of the Word of Christ.
The apostle Paul knew whom He had believed, and he was convinced that Christ was able to will and do all His good pleasure, in keeping His promises by the power of God.
The fool for Christ is a sheep of the great Shepherd (Ps 23; Jn 10). He is a soldier in the army of the victorious, warrior King. He is a child of the loving, heavenly Father of lights, who has sent His Spirit to shine love in our hearts (2 Cor 4:6), resulting in many who call upon His name.
The Bible assures us that what is in a man’s heart will come out of His mouth (Mt 12:34; 15:18). The fool for Christ is considered an idle babbler by those who are not privy to the jargon of heaven. It is the saint’s joy to speak of his Lord, the Holy One of Israel. His word is truth (Jn 17:17). His word is life (Jn 6:63). This, of course, is proven again and again, during the saints remaining days on the earth.
The godless fool scoffs at Christ, the Son of God, and relentlessly takes His name in vain. He recklessly breaks the law of God (1 Jn 3:4), unfamiliar with the perfect accounting of crimes against the crown (2 Cor 5:10). He who is ungodly is also unrighteous, and the wrath of God is pending against him (Rom 1:18). He presses on until he hears the words, “You fool, tonight, your soul is required of you (Lk 12:20).
The fool for Christ is pretty much a loser in this world. It is ordained, albeit, in differing degrees, that each loses the world before departing the world. The children of the world are wiser than the children of light in this respect.
The world demands constant attention for it to issue gains, and constant attention to maintain that which is accumulated. The world system is designed, by its ruler (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), to keep its citizens’ attention away from the things of heaven. One show after another; one sports season after another; one political term after another; one holiday for spending money after another, and so it is with the world. The godless fool thinks this is all there is to life. He sets his mind upon the things of the earth.
The fool for Christ is weaned from the ways of the world, usually by one loss or disappointment after another. His focus is increasingly on Christ and heaven (Col 3:2). The losses can be very difficult, but they help prove the authenticity of faith. His treasure is in heaven, fool’s gold to the world, but precious to the heir of God (Rom 8:17).
April has its fool’s day, and we should consider the two fools that occupy this world. One denies God with his heart, in his mind, and with his life. The other lives for God with his whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. One gambles that this life is all there is, and the other puts off this life in preparation for the one to come. One has a foretaste of heaven, and the other no taste for God and His goodness.
What kind of fool are you, today? In conclusion, we know that everyone is a fool of one kind or another. With the wisdom of this fallen sinful world, the godless fool lives and dies in darkness. With the wisdom of heaven granted to him, the fool for Christ has already died to this dying world, and now he lives for Christ, the King of the world to come, and a world without end. The fool for Christ has no problem being identified as such, for he knows the foolishness of Christ is wiser than the wisdom of this world. Happy Fool’s for Christ Day!
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
April 1, 2022
