1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—
6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.
7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Apostle Paul is famous for his very “dense” writing. I sometimes wonder if he is going to let me take a breath and I have to search to find the point in the sentence because he can pack so much into one sentence. Paul has introduced himself as an authorized messenger for writing to the Corinthians. Paul has greeted the people he is writing to as saints, people in the process of being sorted out, growing in their Christian character. He now delves into a long statement that might be summarized, I would suggest, as saying, “I’m so glad you’re my peeps!” “I’m glad we’re on the same team.” Let’s let that soak in for a minute. The “other” is so often demonized today. So what is Paul appreciative for? It is not what I might expect.
Paul is thankful not for what the other has done for him but for all that he sees in them, their potential, their giftedness that they bring to the fellowship of believers. They have been graced and enriched with speech and knowledge. Perhaps they agree but perhaps they are iron sharpening iron since we know Paul is writing this letter because of differences. He’s doing that sandwich thing where you put two slices of complements and add a layer of meaty challenges between. But first he lays a foundation of gratitude for their growing points.
It makes me wonder to what degree I celebrate the diversity others bring to my life and see the way they are growing as a blessing to me, calling me forward, or am I threatened by differences. That’s certainly the message in the political media today. Paul is able to be thankful because he is able to see Christ working in his friend’s life and he is confident that Christ will lead to a good conclusion. God is faithful who has called us into fellowship with someone different from ourselves.
May we learn to look at others and see the growth they are going through and may we see them as fellow team members with different skills placed in our lives and the lives of those around us. Indeed I would pray for “grace and peace” of God for others as we go through today. Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 