READING: 1 Corinthians 15-16
There is so much in today’s reading. The gospel clearly stated in 1 Cor 15:3-5. Resurrection of the dead. Victory over death. New bodies. Immortality. The return of Christ. Offerings. Christian friends. I could continue with other topics, but I instead focus on the final verse of this book: “My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen” (1 Cor 16:24).
I focus on this last verse because of the intimate nature of the closing to this letter. Indeed, it’s one of the most heartfelt conclusions of any of Paul’s letters. “I love you,” the apostle told the Corinthians, and he ended this correspondence (at least with this letter) on this warm note. This book began with Paul’s saying, “I always thank my God for you” (1 Cor 1:4), and it ended with a word of love. The “bookends” of this book thus show Paul’s relationship with this congregation.
What’s in between the bookends, though, is quite different. Frankly, the Corinthian church was a mess. Think about it. They were divided. They rejoiced over sin. They lived out immoral sexuality. They were suing each other. Some questioned Paul’s apostleship. They abused the Lord’s Supper even while they were arguing over who had the greatest gifts. Some were disrupting the worship services. To put it simply, they apparently weren’t very loving toward one another. Who would want to serve that church?
Nevertheless, Paul said to them, “I love you” — and in so doing, he modeled for us how we’re to relate to our brothers and sisters. True, some may seem to be more trouble than help. Some are argumentative, and others live in continual sin. Some are consumed by their own pride. Others create crusades out of their individual interpretation of the Word. Some church members, it seems, bring trouble with them like the Corinthians did.
And yet, we still must love them like Paul did. More specifically, we’re to love them like God does. That’s not easy, but we can move in that direction under the power of the Spirit. Through the Spirit, we love the unlovable, the arrogant, and the apathetic. In His power, we build unity in the Body of Christ, a unity that becomes a shield against the enemy’s arrows. Under the unity of the Body, we serve Christ together, pray together, and even perhaps die together in the work of the gospel.
That would be okay, though, because “death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor 15:54). Amen.
ACTION STEPS:
- Ask God to help you love someone who seems unlovable. Model the gospel.
- Reach out and do something good for a believer who is frankly hard to love.
PRAYER: “God, thank You for loving messy people. Like me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Corinthians 1-4