The Foolish Things
I don’t know who doesn’t already know this, but in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker discovers that the only way to become a Jedi—like his father—is to study at the feet of the Jedi Master Yoda. He travels to Dagobah, a planet with swampy mud, lots of sketchy creatures, and humidity that would make the South blush.
On Dagobah, Luke encounters a small, green creature that’s 900 years old and doesn’t have a grasp of grammar and syntax. And frankly, he’s annoying. Luke doesn’t realize until later that the revered master he’s looking for is this bumpkin of a hermit.
In Season 2 of The Crown, the evangelist Billy Graham travels to London and creates a stir with his crusades. Queen Elizabeth invites him to preach to the Royal Family, but none of them understand why he’s so popular. Only the Queen sees past royal privilege and the stuffiness and pretense of tradition to respect the humble and sincere faith that Billy Graham expresses.
Pop culture is littered with these types of scenarios where a character whom nobody expects to amount to much turns out to be the wisest, most brilliant, or most mature in the room. God does that too. In fact, He specializes in the underdog.
Think about the disgraced prince who doubts himself but leads God’s people out of the country that adopted him when he was a baby. Consider the prostitute who helped Israel’s spies defeat a seemingly impregnable city. Or how about the young shepherd who defeated a giant, despite the taunts of the enemy—and his own brothers? And let’s not forget the baby, born in a stable, who went on to defeat sin and the grave.
The apostle Paul reminds the church in Corinth that God traffics in the underdog for His glory:
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, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
It would be so easy for God to use the powerful, the intelligent, or the strong to bring glory to Himself, but isn’t it more interesting that He uses the unexpected to bring about His purposes?
Admit it: the underdog is more fun.
Photo by D A V I D S O N L U N A on Unsplash