God's Wisdom; World's Foolishness

1 Corinthians 1:18, 20-21, 27, 31 

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
  

"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe."

"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;"

"so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

The Bible is both the source of power for the believer and also the stumbling block for humanity. In this day and age, it is very unpopular to make the claim to believe in the Bible. Even some who proclaim Christ as savior avoid portions of Scripture. It is as if they are ashamed of what God has to say on certain topics, but this it to our great folly. God's word is our source of wisdom. It has never lined up with earthly wisdom, why should it now? We attempt to do away with Scripture that makes us uncomfortable by claiming that it only applied during the time period it was written. Which is folly due to the fact that it's authors were in a historical context, but directed by the Holy Spirit--who is in fact outside of time. Although our understanding of Scripture can be aided by understanding the historical context, we should never explain away Scripture by stating, "That was for them, and it does not apply to us anymore." We do this in another way, with the Old Testament. Because we do not understand the Old Testament, sometimes we claim that with the New Covenant the Old Testament is irrelevant. This could not be any further from the truth, for Jesus said that He came not to do away with the Law but to fulfill it. This means that to better understand Christ (and God) we must study and understand the Old Testament. I state all of this to say that our wisdom comes from one source--God. We come to know God's wisdom through His word--and that means all of it. If we do not understand some portion of Scripture, we should not be quick to explain it away, especially if it contradicts what society and the world state is correct. The wisdom of the Lord should contradict the world. Our lives should be radically different than those who have not experienced the wisdom found in God's word through the Holy Spirit. If we strive to find God through some intelectual prowess, we will fail. God reveals himself, through His holy spirit, to those whom choose to believe in faith that His way is the better way--nay, it is the only way to find true life. I live my life God's way, as explained in His word, because I have seen and tasted that it is the only way to live. When I try to do things my way, I feel the pain of disappoint and consequence, just as the G.I. action figure does when the child ignores the instructions not to place in extreme heat. It sounds silly, but it really is a great illustration for how we can use or not use God's word. We can disregard it, but it is our instructional manual. It is the wisdom. To those who are outside of understanding, it is darkened and seems foolish, but to we who are being saved it is the power of God.