1 Corinthians 1:26-31: a reflection

26For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; 27but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong. 28God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist, 29that no flesh should boast before God. 30Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”

Paul reminds the Corinthians to consider their own calling: not many of them were wise by worldly standards, not many influential, not many of noble birth. God, it turns out, deliberately chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, the lowly and despised, even the things that are nothing, to bring to nothing the things that are. God's choices run opposite to the world's; he passes over the impressive and chooses the overlooked.

And Paul names the purpose behind this: so that no one may boast before God. If God had chosen mainly the wise, the strong, and the well-born, they might have imagined they had earned their place. By choosing the weak and lowly, God makes clear that salvation is entirely his gift, not a reward for human greatness. And he points to where all our worth truly lies: because of God, we are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

This is deeply freeing. You do not need to be wise, strong, influential, or impressive by the world's measures for God to choose and use you; in fact, he delights to work through the weak and overlooked, precisely so that the glory goes to him and not to us. If you feel unqualified, ordinary, or weak, you are exactly the kind of person God loves to call. And your worth rests not in yourself but in Christ, who is your wisdom and righteousness. So, as Paul concludes, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.

Lord, you deliberately chose the foolish, the weak, and the lowly, so that no one could boast before you and all the glory would be yours. When I feel unqualified, ordinary, or weak, remind me that I am exactly the kind of person you love to call. Let my worth rest not in myself but in Christ, my wisdom and righteousness, and let me boast in nothing but you. Amen.