Today's Reading:O.T. - 1 Samuel 6 - 8
N.T. - 1 Corinthians 10:23 - 11:34
Focus Verses: 1 Cor.11:17-18
17In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
Insight:
"When you come together, there are divisions." The church in Corinth faced all kinds of challenges that worked against unity. Even their corporate meeting times were a source of disunity. Controversies ranged from dietary restrictions, to the role of women in worship, to the practice of communion. All of these issues needed to be faced in a spirit of humility and selflessness. Paul's admonition in 10:24, "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others," would go a long way toward the resolving of each of these divisive issues.
Response and Action:
There are many issues that divide Christians today. We are great at straining and breaking fellowship over politics, theology, experience, culture, race, conduct, and just about anything else. These issues become even more problematic when we are more concerned about our own interests and opinions than we are about others. I need to work for unity among Christians. I need to care about the best interests of others. True concern for the good of others is a guiding principle for navigating through the many difficult issues we Christians face today.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, union. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is darkness, light. Grant that I might not so much seek to be consoled as to to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is giving we receive; it is in pardoning we receive pardon; it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
(A prayer commonly attributed to St. Francis.)
Proverbs: 23:17
"Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD."
Resources:
Free to Disagree
by John Wecks
