Can Prince be Far Behind?

My church gives out a daily devotional booklet every three months. Some of us actually read it, which goes to show you how gung-ho charismatics are. We may be wrong, but we will be on time for judgment, and we will bring food.

Today’s entry was kind of sad. It contained the bit about the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 1):

26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Some people think the part about “not many might, not many noble” and so on applies to the church as a whole. That is a terrible thing to consider. Think about all the smart, accomplished people you know. Can it really be true that a higher proportion of them are headed for hell, or at least for very lowly entrances into heaven?

It probably does. Let’s face it. Who turns to God and gives up home rule? People who are on top of the world? Not usually. It’s criminals. People with dysfunctional families. Cripples. Addicts. Like the 400 men who banded together with David in the cave of Adullam. People who do well tend to think they do it in their own strength and that they don’t need God. If you can give yourself up to God when things are going perfectly, you are way ahead of many of your brothers. Some have to get cancer or cry on the floor of a federal prison before they find the base of the altar. Some hit rock bottom, taking as much punishment as God is willing to inflict in order to wake them up, and still refuse to admit they’re wrong.

I wonder how well I fit into my church’s demographic. I know a lot of the people there are barely getting by. Many are not educated. I haven’t met any other lawyers (surprise). But I’ve met a cardiologist and a successful real estate broker.

It’s funny, but the gifts you have in the flesh, while useful to God, don’t correlate very well with your power as a Christian. I thought about this the other day while I was listening to Fred Stone. I enjoy him tremendously. He’s a simple guy. I don’t think he went to college. He’s as country as can be; he would be nearly interchangeable with any of my relatives from my grandfather’s generation. But when he gets a question about his walk, he has the answer, just about every time. Right on the money. If I knew him personally, I would be thrilled to have the chance to ask his advice about nearly anything. But I know a lot of professionals who don’t have enough sense to get out of bed.

The Holy Spirit gives people wisdom. There is no doubt about it. He may not give you a genius IQ, but he will tell you what you need to know, and he will tell you what other people need to know, too.

The hard thing to remember about earthly blessings like good looks, brilliance, talent, and wealth is that once you’re dead, they vanish. I don’t mean that you won’t be good-looking or smart in the afterlife. But other people will be just as gifted. People who aren’t much in this life will have everything you have now, and more. I try to keep that in mind when I deal with people who seem ordinary. I have a few remarkable gifts, but in the long term, they are no better than beads and trinkets. And people who have gifts I don’t have are in the same boat. So who will the beautiful people be in heaven? Must be those who had faith and obeyed in this life. Isn’t this necessarily part of what “the last shall be first” means?

I believe the afterlife will be like a high school reunion. The jocks will be pumping gas, the cheerleaders will be cashiers at KMart, and the nerds will be millionaires. Metaphorically.

I haven’t had any trouble fitting in at the church. I think God shapes his troops so they work together well. Also, the things we talk about don’t have much to do with education or worldly experience. We talk about things we’ve learned in our walks. We discuss God’s promises. We recommend books to each other. I can learn as much from a cab driver as I can from a biochemist. That is literally true. We’re not discussing quantum mechanics. Some of the best people to learn from are blue-collar workers.

If it’s true that a lot of upper- and upper-middle-class people will be left out, then I am even luckier than I already knew. I was smart enough to realize that my problems were really blessings, but in view of my background, it’s considerably more obvious. Had I come from a perfect family and had a perfect life, I would have seen no reason to involve God, and I would have entered the next life as a very confused and surprised beggar. And let’s not even discuss the blessings I would have missed in this life. What percentage of people get to have a close relationship with God and experience the supernatural on a daily basis? How many people know what it’s like to have God’s presence drop on them and surround them like a fog?

The world is full of people who run around claiming no one has seen proof God exists. What huge lie! I’ve seen proof, and so have a lot of other people. There aren’t many such people in relative terms, but in absolute terms, there are probably tens or hundreds of millions. God has given all sorts of signs. The problem is that people reject them because they don’t want to give up the illusion of control over their lives.

I think I just squeaked by. I think I dodged a bullet. Thank God I don’t have the guts or determination a successful unbeliever needs.