A spoon full of water goes a long way to believing

I recently, or, as it were now, not so recently, returned from Christmas break after spending 2 weeks in Michigan.

While in Michigan, I was privileged to eat with many friends and family, including my 5th grade nephew Joshua and my 2nd grade niece Anna. As we were sitting down for lunch, Anna noticed that I had a spoon in my glass of water. What she didn’t know was that I had left the spoon in the glass from earlier in the day when I had used that very glass and spoon to make hot chocolate. She wanted to know why I would have a spoon in my glass of water, and I of course was going to have a little bit of fun with her curiosity. I responded with a straight face that I use a spoon to stir my water in order to make it taste better. By the look on her face I could tell that she wanted to believe me, but wasn’t quite buying it, so I emphatically told her to try it for herself. She immediately grabbed a spoon and started stirring her water, and a bit to my surprise, agreed that the water tasted better. I reassured her that of course it did. This inspired Joshua to reach for a spoon and perform the same ceremonial stirring of the water. He drank and responded, “it still tastes the same”. One sold, and one skeptic I guess. So, I pushed the sale a little harder by saying “that’s because you stirred it in a clockwise motion. You need to stir counter-clockwise for best results”. He almost started stirring in the opposite direction and then a sly smile appeared on his face as he turned to look at me. The gig was up.

This little story got me thinking though. As ridiculous as my water tale was, I couldn’t help but think of another tale that is equally ridiculous. That is the tale of Jesus Christ. The Son of God??? Died and raised??? For me??? For you??? Paul tells us:

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. –1 Corinthians 1:22-25

I suppose Paul was right, Christ crucified is really a stumbling block. I also imagine that depending on what side of faith you are believing on, the ridiculousness makes all the difference. The difference of hope and gratitude, verses disbelief and doubt. If you believe in this ridiculous tale then you find the miracle and wisdom of Christ crucified. If you don’t believe in this ridiculous tale, then you find your evidence for doubt that this miracle happened, and proof that there is no such wisdom to be found in believing such stories.

What will we find if we jump in for the spoon that is Jesus Christ? Will the gig be up? Or, will we find the power and wisdom of God?