Friday, August 26 ~ tammi

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is 2 Chronicles 1-3; 1 Corinthians 16.

Okay, I'm gonna be honest here: it hasn't been a great week ~ I've struggled considerably with concentrating on spending time with God, both reading and praying.  Both the passages today bored me and I only just briefly skimmed through them.

I did, however, make the effort to listen to a couple of MacArthur's sermons on the last chapter of 1 Corinthians, and though my thoughts wandered even then, I did notice he drew some interesting observations about a passage that seems like nothing more than just some relatively meaningless personal greetings.

I've never really thought about it before, but if I believe those words to be divinely-inspired like the rest of the Scriptures, there must be some significance, some relevance, to our generation even among the "footnotes" of the letter.

Starting in v. 14, Paul begins his concluding remarks by telling the Corinthians to "Do everything in love," and while what follows just looks like a list of personal greetings, MacArthur points out seven evidences of love in the fellowship of believers ~ The Church ~ from these greetings:

1. Evangelism.  The love that the Holy Spirit had given Paul "constrained" him to spread the gospel.  Stephanus and his household were among the first recipients of the manifestation of Paul's love and as a result, they were also the first believers in ancient Greece. The Spirit of God produces this kind of love. You walk in the Spirit, He produces love, and you direct that love to the lost.

2.  Service to the Saints.  Stephanus and his entire household were virtually addicted (a conclusion drawn from the root words in the original text) to serving those who led the congregation as well as in active ministry themselves.

3. Submission.  Paul reminds us that we're ALL under someone else's authority, so we need to learn how to submit, and by example, he points to Stephanus' family.  That family who's addicted to serving ~ submit yourselves to them and learn from them. We're not supposed to be a bunch of people trying to get on top of each other; we should strive to be a bunch of people who are trying to get under the RIGHT people.

4.  Companionship.  Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaiachus were refreshing friends.  When Paul had spent time with them, he felt nourished.  Isn't that often how we feel after a good visit with family or spending time with an old youth leader we really looked up to? Well, that's how our fellow believers at church should feel after being with us, too.

5. Respect. When you find somebody who evangelizes, who serves the saints, who's addicted to the work of the Lord, who sets the right kind of example for you to submit to, then "therefore, acknowledge them that are such." That means to give recognition to; to highly value, to rightly evaluate. The idea is not that we line them all up in the front and crown them king or queen for a day, but that we continually view them with a sense of respect.

6. Hospitality. Christianity is not institutional, it's life, it's living, it's in the home. But it's important to note that this is not directed specifically at women, nor does it necessarily mean we have to always be inviting people over! Our homes ought to be open to the neighbors and to friends and to family and anybody who needs it, but we can ~ and SHOULD be ~ kind, compassionate, thoughtful, generous, and helpful outside our homes, too.

7. Affection. No, we aren't required to kiss everyone at church, but extend a handshake, give a hug or a quick squeeze of the shoulder. Make eye contact, smile, and engage in conversation, making sure that when you ask "How are you today?" that you're prepared to actually listen to the answer! Make a point of making a newcomer feel welcome.

Decades ago, the church we used to attend had this motto: "________ Gospel Church, where you are a stranger only once!" Somewhere along the line, they ditched it, but I think it captures how church should feel to regular attenders and newcomers alike.

Well, I would never have thought there was two hour-long sermons' worth of material in vv. 14-20 alone, but I guess that just goes to show you that mining God's Word really will yield priceless treasures!








Tomorrow's passages: 2 Chronicles 4-6; 2 Corinthians 1