Be God's Fool

Being a fool for God looks a lot like S U R R E N D E R. It looks a lot like showing up as the filthy beggar in Acts 2. The one crippled from birth. The one that was so broken, he had to be carried up the steps only to sit & beg at the temple gates. Being a fool means recognizing our weakness so that we can rely on a strength and power that is not our own. It’s realizing that we are a cripple in a crippled world, but we can show up at the table anyway. It’s being so foolish to think that the Creator of the universe holds the crutch. That He is waiting at the bottom of the staircase for us. With an outstretched hand He says “come.” Come to the Temple called Beautiful, because that’s what you are to Me. It’s knowing that when we get on our knees with our head hung low that we are actually flying with angels. It’s recognizing that the way of the world and the way of Jesus is like oil and water. It’s hard to mix.

But I think back to my childhood and how everyone has always told me to go against the grain. It was always about standing out from the crowd. Society PUSHES that, it always has. Back then, it looked like dying my hair pink and wearing black nail polish to school. But I’ve learned that being a believer in the eyes of the world is the most foolish thing you can do. And there’s something so exciting about that.

Being a fool for God looks a lot like walking with your feet placed on the ground while your heart is in heaven. It looks like being overly generous + immensely patient. It looks like choosing to live for others in a world run on vanity. It’s about striking up conversations about grace & redemption with a stranger in an Uber. It looks like stopping and praying for a homeless man in the streets. Maybe he’s just a beggar who needs a savior, too. It looks like rest. Being still. In a world addicted to caffeine & fast cars that’s hard to do.

It looks a lot like entrusting your entire life into the hands of someone who is invisible because sometimes the most real things in life are the things that are unseen. And they are then things that will far outlast us.

Just like the beggar in Acts 2, dare to show up at the Temple gates marked “Beautiful.” Because He will be there too. He will be there to carry you. He will show you that you ARE the temple, containing the power of the Holy Spirit & THAT holds more beauty than any magazine cover or social media post ever could.

What the world calls smart, God calls foolish. What the world calls foolish, God calls smart. The world, my friend, is on its way out, but with Jesus, we will live forever.

And I’m not saying it’s easy. I find myself slipping time and time again into the patterns of the world. What’s helped me is a daily decision to hand myself off to the One who lets the light shine in my windows every morning. It’s hard to stay rooted & nourished when the world can be so dry & demanding. Go into the Word. Go into prayer. I’m learning to be just as disciplined about reading the bible as I am about exercise. Be foolish enough to ask God to show up. And then ask Him for eyes to notice where He’s working. Becuase He’s always working.

If you’re not sure where to start in defying the ways of the world, here are 5 easy steps to get you going. Are you ready?

1. Pay for the person in front of you at Starbucks. The world says to live for yourself, but God says to live for others.

2. Spread encouragement & vulnerability on social media. Help others come to a “me too” moment. God says strength is for service, not status.

3. Share a meal in celebration of what God is doing, and take your time. Society tells us that meals are for the taste, but the Bible teaches us that meals are more about celebrating with the people surrounding you at the table. Have you ever had a two-hour meal before? Try it. Don’t order your entire until the apps are on the table. Take it S L O W.

4. Speak God into more conversations. Did you know that 7% of Christians say that they have a spiritual conversation at least once a week? Let’s change that.

5. Take a sticky note and write the truths of the Word of God on them. Put them on your bathroom mirror and read them aloud to your reflection every morning. I am a beloved child of God. I am forgiven. I am worthy. I am free. Start believing it. Start banishing the lies the world is telling you.

Let’s continue to be God’s fool.

#invisiblecrownco