The Fool

Psalm 14:1 – The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (NIV)

A number of years ago, in the dark of a winter's morning, an owl attempted to make off with one of my miniature long-haired dachshunds. Fortunately, it did not succeed, and I learned and implemented a valuable lesson. A neighbour showed me how to create webbing from rope and string it from tree to tree across my dog run, thereby preventing birds of prey from flying back out, if they were foolish enough — which they are not — to fly in. That was eleven years ago, and I have had no problems of this nature since.

Within the world, there is a bird of prey, so to speak, who loves nothing better than to swoop down and seek to make off with people's souls. The Scriptures have many names for him, but the one that I will use today is the prince of darkness. The prince of darkness is no fool when it comes to knowing that there is one God and only one God. But he does not want the world to know it. Rather, he desires that as many people as possible will serve him as their one and only god, and he preys upon people in many and various ways. He offers them riches and power, but his offers are lies. He is canny enough to give them a certain amount of what he has promised and what they want, but there is no lasting peace or joy or satisfaction in what he gives. In the end, any riches or power that he does dispense all fade away, for no one can take such things with them when comes their time to die.

The prince of darkness also seeks to prey upon the children of light: those who have chosen to believe in the one true God through Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The prince of darkness cannot rob them of their souls, but through his tricks and deceptions, he can keep them from living the life of spiritual victory which Christ bought and paid for through His death on the cross. He does this in various ways, some of which include whispering words of false guilt or doubt into their minds, such as, Surely God has not forgiven you that sin, or If there really were a loving God, He would never allow such suffering in the world, or The Bible doesn't really mean that; after all, it's just a matter of interpretation.

However, there is a way for the Christian to guard against this bird of prey, this prince of darkness. That is, within our minds, to string webbing created from the lifeline of God's Word that He has given to us. Read it, study it, learn it, know it, and use it, for when we do so, it protects our hearts and souls and minds from the lies of the evil one. It also prepares us to be able to share God's truth with those who do not yet know Christ and His life-giving power and salvation. God's Word does not return null and void.

This year, Easter is celebrated on April Fool's Day. How appropriate in many ways, for many fools denied that Jesus was the Messiah, God with us. But Jesus fooled them all when He died and rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven and is seated at the Father's right hand. He was and is no fool, and neither are those who choose by faith to believe upon Him this day and in the days to come.

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." What do you say?

Prayer: Father God, may the fools of this world be enlightened this Easter by the truth of Your Word, that the prince of darkness may be put to flight for another day. In Christ's name, we ask. Amen.

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