Be Still - February 1, 2023

I Corinthians 3: 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? (NIV)

The only ultimate disaster that can befall us . . . is to feel ourselves to be home on earth.*

God knows the heart and potential of everyone. He knows the difference between defiance and doing-the-best-I-can. When he looked down on the Corinthians, perhaps he saw something that Paul didn’t; but from his human perspective, Paul saw a group of Christians who knew better and should be doing better. Their actions spoke of the conditions of their hearts. As Max Lucado characterizes them: “They let God save them, but not change them.”* 

Will God save us if we don’t let him change us? We can never be good enough to earn our salvation, but can we be bad enough to lose it? One writer contends: “The only way we can lose our salvation is to deliberately reject Christ.”* Only God can determine the difference between occasional disobedience and total rejection, but don’t forget that Jesus said, “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” (Luke 6: 44) 

If your actions speak more loudly of rebellion than surrender, then perhaps you, like the Corinthians, are still worldly. Does it alarm you to know that, “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts” (I Corinthians 4: 5)? Or can you comfortably claim, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”(I Corinthians 4: 4)?

Although he’s extremely patient with us, one day he will hold us accountable for how we’ve lived.*