Schooling the Smart Guy – John 3:1-21

There are a lot of smart people in the world. Some are too smart for their own good because they think they know everything; that they can't ever learn anything from anyone else. Smart people are often the hardest to reach with the truth of God's Word. Yet they still need to hear the truth. The truth will sound foolish to them, but God's Word does say that he has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. (I Cor. 1:27)

Jesus encountered a very smart man in Nicodemus. To his credit, Nicodemus genuinely wanted to know the truth. He sought out Jesus because he wanted answers. But as we have talked about in recent studies, a lack of belief got in the way. Nicodemus struggled because what Jesus told him didn't make sense to his logical, ordered mind. But like everyone else, he must believe what Jesus says first. Only then will God give the understanding.

I have no way of knowing how smart you are, or think you are. But I can tell you that what God does rarely makes sense to the human mind. Being a true man or woman of faith often requires setting aside human wisdom and just taking God at his word – even if that means thinking or behaving in a way the world considers foolish.