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Listen while you read: "The Lily Of The Valley"1 (Lyrics) |
Mark 3:20-21 – Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." (NRSV)
1 Corinthians 1:25 – For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. (NRSV)
There is a Peanuts cartoon in which Lucy is telling her brother Linus to get involved. Linus stands sucking his thumb and hanging onto his security blanket, and Lucy says, "You can't drift along forever. You have to direct your thinking. For instance, you have to decide whether you are going to be a liberal or a conservative. You have to take some sort of stand. You have to associate yourself with some sort of cause." Linus pulls his thumb out of his mouth, drops his security blanket, and asks Lucy, "Are there any openings in the lunatic fringe?"
Today's first Scripture passage is a gospel episode in which Jesus is looked upon as a member of the lunatic fringe, not only by His enemies, but also by His family and friends. Whether we realize it or not, it is just as true that some of Jesus' friends still look upon Him as a member of the lunatic fringe, especially on Sundays when they come to church and listen to what Jesus is saying in the Gospels about God's grace. God's grace often is a shocker! And that grace turns the world upside down — our economics, our social system, our politics, and our religion.
- "Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe." – Theodore Roosevelt.
- "You sometimes find something good in the lunatic fringe. In fact, we have got as part of our social and economic government today a whole lot of things which in my boyhood were considered lunatic fringe, and yet they are now part of everyday life." – Franklin D. Roosevelt
To the world, we Christians who believe in God's "foolishness" might seem as part of the lunatic fringe when we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Care to give it a try today?
Prayer: We thank You for Your foolishness that is wiser than human wisdom, and for Your weakness that is stronger than human strength. Amen.
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Like it, Ken. Thanks!
I like this one, Kenn! Thank You!!
Amen, Kenn. Have a great weekend.
May God bless and keep you. Thank you so much!
Thank you, Kenn, for sharing this encouraging devotional with us. Crazy for Christ! Yes! Blessings.
Enjoyed your post, Kenn! I never thought of it like that before, gives a new way at looking at ideas that may at first seem on the fringe. Thanks and blessings!
Have you ever read “In His Steps”? by Sheldon. That is quite the book. I read it a long time ago now but certainly falls in your category! Blessings as you follow Him.
Thank you, Kenn. This is so true: “God’s grace often is a shocker! And that grace turns the world upside down – our economics, our social system, our politics, and our religion.” If only, the world would let it be so.
Greetings Kenn and many thanks for another of your special writings. Yes, there are those who may think following in our Lord’s footsteps may be a foolish journey, but there is no better direction in our life than to seek and faithfully follow His ways. Blessings for these devotionals you prepare.
Kenn,
Merci for another well-crafted devotional. “His” village, then the world, was turned upside down. … your insights and allusions will pithily stimulate my mind like a tune stuck in the head all morning. A person desiring to be a keen Xtn is part of the chosen.
Dear Kenn,
Well this is new to me. I did not know the term “lunatic fringe” and that it is also a song by Red Rider. I had to look up some more information. It is an interesting concept because yes, many people cannot understand why Christians believe in so many things that a human mind cannot comprehend. It took me a long time to wrap my head around God’s power and the thought that he know how many hairs are on my head.
Yes, it is important that we don’t worry about what others think of us, but to continue to spread the good news and God’s grace.
Thanks for continuing to share and help me to learn new thoughts. Blessings.
NEAT!!
Thank you so much for the Lunatic Fringe devotional. I should relish in being thought of as crazy for His sake. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks Kenn!
(BC)