The Bottle

Imagine being a church getting a letter from Paul. Paul, the famous missionary who is going around and starting churches all over the known world. You are excited to hear from him, and you see this scolding in the letter. I think it would be hard to not take the letter at that very moment and not tear it up! I could not believe how this would have made the people in Corinth feel! The Bible tells us here that they were not acting like Christians! They cared more about their status in the church than the actual progression of their faith and trust in the Lord. Their faith and gatherings were not about Jesus. They were about themselves and who had helped lead them and the position and standing that gave them in the church. Paul has to call them out and he holds nothing back. God makes it very clear that this is not how we are supposed to be! It is interesting, the wording here is that they were acting like mere humans. They were acting like the world. As Christians I think sometimes we forget that there is a supernatural influence in our lives. We have the helper! We have the Holy Spirit who is there for us, who indwells us at the moment of regeneration and acceptance of salvation. This makes us different from the rest of the world. It is what makes us different from just another religion. We have a real change! Paul, seeing that they are not acting any differently, looks at this fact and rebukes them for still acting as the way of the world. It is a reminder for us to focus on what really matters and to always be intentional about growth in our lives. It is not easy at times to hear from those who we admire and be torn down, like Corinth is here. But it is precisely what they needed to hear! Rebuke is not a bad thing! It takes a heart of humility to hear these seemingly harsh words and look inward and say, “I do need to change.” Do not forget what is really important. It is not our worldly status or things that we have, but our position in Christ! He is the one who came to save! Living in Christlikeness is the command we have here on this earth! Continue to walk in the Lord and focus on Jesus!