Plow with hope

Monday January 24, 2022

Plow with hope

He who plows must plow with hope. 1 Corinthians 9:10

Look at the cultivator : he waits for the precious fruit of the earth, showing patience with it until he has received the first and the last rains. James 5:7

Paul "ploughed" for 18 months in Corinth (Acts 18:11). The city then had 700,000 to 800,000 inhabitants, including 400,000 slaves. Corinth was the most prosperous of the Greek cities and one of the greatest metropolises of the ancient world. Enriched by its trade, Corinth was a capital of pleasure for the debauched. The immorality of its inhabitants was proverbial. To designate a particularly dissolute and scandalous way of life, the Greeks coined the word “Corinthianize” or Corinthian living.

Paul painfully begins his work in Corinth (1 Corinthians 2:3). As he is alone, he must provide for his own needs and practice his trade as a tentmaker. He is like a poor workman amid the luxury of Corinth ! Every Sabbath, Paul speaks in the synagogue and seeks to convince Jews and Greeks. He "ploughs" very hard ground, but the task is made easier by the friendship he maintains with Aquilas and Priscilla, a couple who practice the same trade as him.

Coming from Macedonia, Silas and Timothy join the apostle and bring him good news from the Thessalonians and no doubt a gift from them (1 Thessalonians 3). From then on, Paul could devote all his time to bearing witness to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

After months of effort and much opposition from the Jews, a first fruit appears : Crispus, a Jewish leader of a synagogue, believes in the Lord with all his household. In this difficult environment where everything seems contrary, the Gospel begins to penetrate. It is then that the Lord, in a vision, encourages the apostle : Do not be afraid, but speak, do not be silent, because I am with you ; and no one will lay hands on you to harm you, because I have a great people in this city (Acts 18:9,10). “Remain in Corinth, continue to “plough”, says the Lord to him, the fruits will come”.

The conversion of Crispus triggers other conversions and several Corinthians turn to the Lord. The nascent church then took on a rapid expansion.

There is no land too hard to be plowed.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)