Stubborn !

Tuesday February 1, 2022

Stubborn !

1 Corinthians 15:10 – By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not in vain ; far from it, I have worked more than all of them, not myself however, but the grace of God which is with me.

Paul was a great servant of God, he wrote a good part of the New Testament and his thought largely contributed to the development and extension of Christianity. Yet Paul had many adversaries. Men rose up to jeopardize his work, others wanted his skin outright. Finally few of his contemporaries sincerely loved him because what God had placed on him irritated or frightened.

What I want to take away from this meditation this morning is an encouragement for all those who are ostracized from society. Just because you are not popular and appreciated does not mean that you are not useful in the hands of your God. At the risk of irritating, Paul does not hesitate to say : "I am what I am..." full stop. Elsewhere he will say : “If I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

But how do you tell the difference between someone who needs to be renewed in character and someone who, like Paul, is God-mandated shaking and messing around. Let's take two three small things.

First, Paul derived his strength from the grace of God, not from his character. He was fully dependent and subject to the will of his Master. Second, Paul was never unloving even to his detractors. This love caused him to suffer a lot but he never "posed" as a victim. Finally, thirdly, if outwardly he gave the impression of being "invariable", in intimacy with his Lord and in intimacy with his close collaborators, he constantly questioned himself, always seeking more efficiency in his service.

May his example make us reflect...

Have a good day.

Source (Ezekiel 37 Ministries) https://ez37m.com