“So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-21, NLT)

One of the early tasks we accomplish as children is learning to count to ten. Parents patiently repeat the names assigned to numbers and children practice until they master this basic set of knowledge.

“How old are you?” the adult asks. “I am ‘free'” the child replies while holding up three digits in an attempt to make sure she is understood. I have watched in amusement as children sit on the floor of a play area and recite “1 to 10” while moving the appropriate fingers as a self-reminder and marker of progress.

Fingers are wonderful things. Fingers are just the right tools to grasp and manipulate things, to help us communicate and emphasize our “points” and even to help us remember things we may otherwise have forgot. The index finger is “number one” and the finger upon which to tie “remember” string. The index and middle fingers raised simultaneously are “two” and also the sign of victory. The third finger is “three” when combined with one and two and by itself can indicate much by the wearing of a ring. The fourth finger is assigned the little tasks, but still conveys higher value than the first three. Thank God for thumbs! Five is its number and without it the ability to “hold on” would be nearly undone.

During the next five weeks Main Street will be investigating the “top five” things we believe are essential to being a follower of Jesus. The “number one” thing is worship of the Most High God, this must be our drive. Two is to lead people to a conversion experience with Jesus, this is our direction from Jesus to obey. Third is to teach people toward maturity in Jesus, this must be our destination. Fourth is to serve our community and world in Jesus’ name, this is our Christian duty. The “thumb” of our hand is to be a “sieve people” who together form a “sieve church.” The ability to be a utensil through which God’s resources flow is our distinctive.

It is my prayer that keeping these five basic (even foolish?) things always “at hand” will allow us to be of great use in our Lord’s kingdom: In the present day, and for the future.