Devotions
Rev Gav
Status
1 Corinthians 1.26–29
Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
Reflect
The gospel of Jesus Christ really does turn the ways of the world upside-down doesn’t it? I mean, what does the world respect and venerate? Looks, academic or sporting ability, power, status, popularity, and wealth. If you have any of those things then you will gain accolades from your peers, and if you have more than one, well, you’re home and dry! However, God may well rejoice with you in your personal success, but none of those things go any way to securing your place in the family of God.
Many of the world’s socio-religious movements suggest that our purpose in life is to ascend to ‘higher planes’ of existence. Our journey or path towards becoming more enlightened or god-like depends on our acquisition of certain skills such as inner peace or through the acquisition of knowledge. And this was certainly true in the ancient Greek city of Corinth where their philosophy was the pursuit of wisdom, and its associated social benefits of strength, power, status, and privilege.
Consider what this person wrote about Christians!
“We have seen them in their own houses, dressed in clothes bought from thrift stores — manual labourers and carers — often uneducated and dirty people. Christians are like a swarm of bats, or ants creeping out of their nests, or frogs holding a meeting in a swamp, or worms secretly meeting in a pool of mud.”
Albeit paraphrased, that was written by the 2nd-century Greek philosopher Celcus in about AD178.
This pride in the pursuit of wisdom was what Paul, in his letter, confronted head-on, yet note that, in the Bible reading, Paul wrote ‘many’ and not ‘any’ when talking about those who were called by God. He did not discount that powerful, wise, and learned people would be accepted by God, just that God chose everyone including the unwise, weak, low, despised, and those of low status.
If, right now, you feel like a bit of a failure, then you’re in luck, because God welcomes you with open arms and, in the same way, God calls us, here at Fab Church, to welcome each other with open arms. No credentials are required, no level of ability you need to attain, and no societal norms by which you have to adhere. You are welcome.
Photo by Siddharth Bhogra on Unsplash
Pray
Holy God
Sometimes I feel like
a bit of a failure,
in my own life and
in my relationships.
Thank you that there is
nothing I need to do
to earn your love
and that I am accepted
and welcomed by you.
and then