“…not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” -1 Corinthians 1:26-30

Someone once said “As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice.” That same person also said “Great liars are also great magicians.” Do you have any idea who these quotes belong to? I’ll give you a few hints. It was a man who was well known. Some viewed him as a philosopher, and some viewed him as a leader. He lived from the late 19^th century to the early 20^th century (1800’s-1900’s) and he lived in Europe. Know who it is? If you guessed C.S. Lewis… you’d be wrong. If you guessed Winston Churchill… you’d be wrong as well. If you guessed Adolf Hitler you would be correct. Hitler, although we don’t want to admit, had great persuasion skills and was a very powerful leader for a time. He was smart enough to work the system, and was a very strong willed man. Along with those things he also had many flaws. He was immersed in worldly power, knowledge, wisdom, and made a religion of beliefs that he liked best. He let himself fall into his own great lies and started fighting for his personal ideas of what truth and justice were. So how do we match up?

Now, please don’t think that I am saying that we are all like Hitler. I do however want to point out that we have some similar tendencies because we are sinful people. We get caught up in the temporary things in life like power, knowledge, wisdom, and fighting for what we believe in. Paul recognizes this fact and has a long and confusing speech where he says that he does what he doesn’t want to do and he doesn’t do what he wants to do. John Newton puts it in a different and more understandable way: “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be. I am not even what I hope to be.” Newton has it right. We are not what we ought, wish, or hope to be. We were made to be in perfect likeness of Christ and we fail miserably every day at being that way because we are sinners. However, Newton finishes by saying “But by the cross of Christ, I am not what I was.” By the cross of Christ we have been forgiven for our sinfulness, our selfishness, and all of the times that we get sucked into the things of this world. He took all of those things on the cross and got rid of them for eternity making perfect in His sight!

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be. I am not even what I hope to be. But by the cross of Christ, I am not what I was.” –John Newton