what a fool

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There'll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I'll meet you in that place
Where mercy leads

-Rich Mullins, “Let Mercy Lead”


I am really starting to dig this song lyrics series. Worshipping Jesus through music is really something that works for me. I hope you are enjoying it as well.

Let’s start with some definitions today. I know they help me to grasp what biblical writers were truly trying to say. It also helps me to understand words that seem foreign to me really mean. Like fool. Why would anyone call God a fool? When I read the definition below, I begin to understand.

Mercy: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion, compassionate treatment of those in distress.

Fool: one with a marked propensity or fondness for something

I love this song. When I first heard it, I was seriously confused. I had never heard anyone mention God’s foolishness. Furthermore, I did not know what it was. How could God be foolish? How could I be foolish?

Those were things I used to think. Now, foolishness is a beautiful word to me. While I write this, I am searching for the words that can explain what foolishness means to me. Forgive me if I seem vague. I want so much to tell you how wonderful the foolishness of God and His children can really be.

Foolishness. To send your only Son to earth to die. Not only to die, but to be beaten before and sent to Hell afterward.

Foolishness. To love people who turn away from You. To be willing to forgive sin, wipe away our pasts; if we are only willing.
Foolishness. To be eternally optimistic. To shine down on us. To smile down on us.

Our lives in Christ require a foolish God who has much mercy for us. I am an example of a person who needs many second chances. Why does He love me? Why is He after my heart?

The answer. Because He is. Because He is truly a God of love. We make the choice to follow when He calls. And when we turn our faces to Him, He is in love with us.

So, if I know that God is foolishly in love with me, what is my response? Do I approach Christianity with logic and direction? Is there a formula to follow? And, after I decide to love Him too, how shall I do that?

Let me quote something I found in my devotional I read. Perhaps it can explain it better.

“…rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought-in the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself?”-Oswald Chambers

Foolishness. The decision to give up everything that the world deems necessary. A house, a car, possessions. What a foolish idea-giving up the American dream!

Foolishness. Stripping down your life until you are bare before Christ. Not even having a care of where He will take you. Trusting enough in this mercy so that you lay your life in His hands, knowing it will be good.

Foolishness. Caring about the world as much as He does. Feeding the poor, washing the dirty, loving the loveless. Abandoning fear and apprehension and jumping in. Tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.

“Although their foolish hearts may break-they will find peace.”

I cannot lie and say that this is easy. I struggle so much. I want to give myself to Jesus but I want to be in charge. I want to make sure my work for Him is important (in my standards) and that people notice what I am doing. That’s foolish in the traditional sense. My worth is not measured by human standards. It is measured by God’s foolishness.

And so is yours. Think about it.