Reflecting on 1 Corinthians 9:19-27
This Lenten season, as with all those before it, we repent of our sins, we grieve our shortcomings, and we bow our heads humbly to God, giving thanks for sending His son to ultimately die for us so that we may be saved from ourselves. Though, in a world that can often seem to be a tempestuous, modern-day Corinth, I ponder what Paul would think of us today. Stripping away our advances in technology and medicine, and the evolution of music, fashion, and art, would people today evoke a different message from Paul or would he find that his letter to the Corinthians still applies as much now as it did then? We’ve had a couple of millennia to get it right, so we must be better now…right?
As we pray that Paul would find that we have achieved a higher level of goodness and human compassion, may we go forth today and every day consciously and purposefully “becoming all things to ALL people.” Let us passionately seek to understand those least like ourselves; welcome points-of-view least alike to our own; and fervently pursue a Christ-like life even if doing so jeopardizes our popularity or stretches the boundaries of our comfort zones. We can do it.
Cue the music – “I’m starting with the wo/man in the mirror.”
Mahatma Ghandi said, “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.”
In the context of 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, do Paul and Ghandi agree on what we are called to do in order to be worthy of Christ’s sacrifice? What can you do to ensure you are answering the call?
Written by: Katie Filano, UMC Baltimore Washington Conference, Central Maryland District
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