1 Corinthians 2:1-5
2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Paul opens his first letter to the Corinthians by introducing himself as an authoritative messenger. He complements them by acknowledging how he has seen them growing. They are saints in-process growing into their identities as children of God even as our children grow and become more and more the person we experience them to be with their gifts. Paul then pleads with them to be united and not to splinter or argue over who their favorite guru is in the faith. He reasons that none of us can brag for God chooses those who are weak to make strong thus we become models of God’s ability not super stars. We do not need to go to university nor be like Moses or David. God uses ordinary people like us.
Today he points to himself as an application or example of what he has said. He does not experience himself as a great orator like the Greeks were looking for in Athens. He was with the Corinthians simply sharing his experience of the power of the cross and the reality of Christ in his life. He did not do great deeds like Moses. But to his surprise, the Corinthians listened and were touched by his sermon. He credits their faith to the power of the Holy Spirit working in their hearts.
Sometimes we have the experience of saying the right thing at the right time and at the right place. I admit that often I feel like I have foot in mouth problems but every now and then someone will respond – I really needed to hear that. Or sometimes a person’s name keeps running through my mind and I call only to discover they needed a friend to talk with. Once or twice I have found a check in the mail just when I needed it. In those random times when we feel like life is more than coincidental, we need to thank God for using us. May we be open to listening to God speaking to us to reach out, may we obey, and may we give God the credit. Blessings as you respond to the nudging of the Holy Spirit today.
On the Way to Wonder 