For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to those of us who are being saved.  1 Corinthians 1:18 HCSB

I can recall times as a young child when I would tell my parents some farfetched thing that someone had told me and my dad would say, “Do you believe all that foolishness?”

But the most upsetting thing my dad ever told me was that he didn’t believe what the Bible had to say. He didn’t believe that when we died we would either go to heaven or hell. He believed that when we died that was it. There was nothing after that. It was as if he was saying we have no soul.

My mom and my dad’s mom had brought me up in church and taught me to believe in every word that was in the Bible. They had taught me to believe that Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross for our sins and that He died to save us and give us eternal life.

When my dad told me that, it was very upsetting. But God gave me the strength to remain calm and talk to him about what he believed. I knew that he had been hurt in the church when he was younger. He had wanted to be baptized at 8 and was very excited, but his dad wouldn’t allow it because he said that he was too young to know what he was doing. As my dad had gone before the church and made a public profession of faith this left him disappointed and embarrassed. My dad had been raised by a God fearing Christian woman. He had been raised to know all about the Bible, but life’s disappointments had left him bitter and unbelieving. He told me he just couldn’t believe all that foolishness. He believed you died, you were buried, you went on to rot and that was the end of the story.

Praise God, this is not how the story ends. We prayed for my dad for many years. I am sure that his mother prayed for him until her dying day. I know that my mom and my sisters prayed for his salvation and I’m sure there were others praying as well.

I was upset to hear that he didn’t believe, but I continued to pray. I then decided (probably divine intervention) to buy him a Bible. I don’t remember what gift giving occasion it was, but I bought it. My dad would always go and buy what he wanted. His needs were simple. He enjoyed feeding birds and squirrels. So, often we bought him feeders and feed. He really liked flashlights, but anything else he would open, express his thanks and lay it aside and maybe never touch it again. But when he opened that Bible, he looked at me like I had lost my mind. But a few weeks later I noticed that it was sitting by his chair in the living room. I asked my mom why it was there. She said he had been reading it.

Some time later my dad actually wanted to accompany my mom to revival at our church. He had been refusing to go to church for years. Keep in mind that he was very close to deaf and had great difficulty hearing. But our pastor said he watched my dad change during that message. My pastor met with him after the service and my dad wanted to get saved.

At the age of 80, my dad was baptized. What a glorious day that was! My dad changed from the inside out. It was beautiful to watch. Even when he spent almost a month going from hospital to rehab treatment 6 months before he died, the nurses and doctors remarked about how kind he was. At a time when he must have felt his worst, he behaved his best. If you knew my dad before he was saved, then you know what a drastic change this was.

My dad died eight years ago yesterday, five years after being saved. I still miss him terribly, but I am so glad he finally believed all that foolishness. I thank God for softening my dad’s heart enough to open that Bible. I thank God for hearing and answering our prayers.

So I want to ask you today, do you believe all that foolishness? Are you living like you do? Are you seeking the Lord with your whole heart? Are you putting Jesus first and others second? If not, it’s not too late.

If you do believe, but have loved ones who don’t, I beg of you not to give up on them. Continue to pray for God to soften their hearts and give them wisdom so that they might believe.

To the lost the message of the cross is foolishness. We must pray for them. We must try to help them see that the message of the cross is God’s power. It speaks of forgiveness and salvation. It means eternal life in heaven with God the Father and there is nothing foolish about that.

Have a great Easter weekend!