Have you experienced what the apostle Paul is speaking of here? The experience of first seeing Jesus and the gospel message as foolishness when we don’t know Him as our Savior. For me growing up, God was someone to be feared (in an unhealthy way) just in case He did end up having the power to keep good things from me, including heaven. God and His message felt irrelevant to the daily happenings in my life unless it had to do with the shame I had misunderstood as what God puts on humanity.
I had the image of the cross in front of me often as a child, but the message I took from the cross was failure, condemnation, and judgment. It wasn’t until, through a great student ministry, loving leaders, and the stirring of the Holy Spirit, I made the decision to follow Jesus that the message of the cross changed for me. It became the very sacrifice that Jesus made to prove God’s love for me; it became the vehicle for renewed hope in my life; it became the power and strength of God that would help me endure in all seasons; it became personal.
From that day, the message of the cross has continued to be the power of God in my life. The power to redeem, transform, and reconcile. The power to display God’s love for us and for anyone who is being saved. Thank You, Jesus, for the message of the cross!