Hiding in the light

I keep learning, in spite of myself, that words in the Bible I skimmed casually, sloughed off, took as hyperbole, or otherwise downplayed, mean exactly and literally what they say. I think that will be one of the surprises and terrors of heaven. It is very clever of the Holy Spirit; it is not a hiding in the dark but a hiding in the light.

The latest example is 1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."

I had long ago decided that in saying that the word of the cross is the power of God, Paul meant that the word of the cross contains the power of God. Or, it tells us about the power of God. Anything but is the power of God. After all, we Christians are not into magical incantations.

But someone passed me a newsletter from The Jesus Film Project, which is a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International. I learned that every word of this film depiction of the life of Jesus is a direct quote from Scripture. It is the very word of God on celluloid. And the newsletter reports throngs of people in Africa who come to faith by just watching the film.

Makes sense. My friend Lynn became a Christian at age 5 just hearing her militantly atheist German mother read gospel stories to her. The mom didn't believe a word of it, but providentially was just snobbish enough to insist that her daughter be exposed to a smattering of all the great books of Western Civilization.

Little did the woman know-as I just learned-that "the word of the cross . . . is the power of God."

To hear commentaries by Andrée Seu, click here.