Corinthians

I've been reading 1st Corinthians recently. It's good to read the Bible with friends.

I wondered why I hadn't been writing up my learnings, but here goes. These are just a few things that have stood out to me in the last few chapters...

1. "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise...so that no one may boast before Him." (chapter 1) - we talked about this in India. The idea that God uses our weaknesses and our failings, because He is made strong. He is glorified through our weaknesses. We learn to trust Him when we recognise that we can't do it alone. Its a bit of a cliche, but it seems wherever I go that those who have less money are more likely to trust God for His provision. I forget that He provides because I know I can do it on my own.
2. "He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness..." (chapter 4) - scary eh? How would we feel if those around us saw all our deepest and darkest secrets??! I was reminded about how valuable honesty is. When we are honest with God, honest with ourselves, honest with those around us, we give Satan no room to twist and distort things. The smallest thing can become an issue when we leave it hidden and don't talk about it.
3. "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." (chapter 4) - I love this! Why are we insistent on talking so much about God's Kingdom rather than doing something about it? Instead of talking to people about Jesus, why aren't we allowing the power of Jesus to meet with them?
4. "Everything is permissible for me but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything." (chapter 6) - I have the choice to do what I want, but not everything I choose is the best thing for me. I don't want anything to consume or control me unless it is God Himself.
5. "Knowledge puffs up, love builds up." (chapter 8) - this is so true. How much time do I spend puffing (myself and others) up, rather than building them up? Haha. Do I spend time puffing up my ego rather than building up someone else's self worth?
6. "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak." (chapter 8) - I know that I have the right to do what I want, but that comes at a cost unless I consider others too. There are some things I would love to do and enjoy and don't have a problem doing, but it wouldn't be helpful for another person. Therefore I must always decide to NOT do that thing, and to put the other person first.

And these are but small snippets of what I have been learning. I love Corinthians. I love the way Paul writes. And these two letters are just filled with meaty stuff; things I need to grapple with; things that, no matter how much I re read them, I still learn from.