“You’re out of your mind…” (Acts 12:15, NIV)
And that was Rhoda’s diagnosis. Peter had just escaped prison with some angelic help and went to Mary’s house where the church was praying. He knocks on the door. Rhoda opens the door and is so surprised to see him she leaves him standing on the street while she rushes to tell the others. “Peter’s alive and he is here at the door!”
“Girl stop playing. You’re crazy!” They assumed it was Peter’s ghost or his guardian angel. It never dawned on them that it might be Peter – even though they were gathered at Mary’s house to pray for Peter’s release!
What is it about humans that we can convince ourselves of the most unlikely of scenarios while considering the truth “crazy.” Take creation for instance. It takes more “faith” in coincidence to believe in evolution than it does a Creative God. But only one of these is “crazy.”
Take the hot topic of the day: marriage. It doesn’t take a degree in biology to know that males and females were created in a certain way as to propagate the species. But say that out loud and hear: “You’re out of your mind!”
If we serve an all-powerful God that can do anything he chooses in this “open system” he’s created, then the miraculous is still an option for today. But say that to a naturalist and you’re wacko.
Here’s what I’ve discovered. It’s OK to be out of your mind. Rhoda was correct, the others weren’t. Paul puts it this way: “If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” (2 Corinthians 5:13-14, NIV)
Some will think we’re nuts, others quite lucid. But our goal must always remain. Our goal is not to please man, but to win our fellow-man to the Lord.
