Saturday 22 Dec 2018

December 22: 1 Corinthians 4:7-11

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:10
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honoured, we are dishonoured!

Devotion:
How often do you compare yourself to others, thinking about how much better they are than you, or even you are than them? We all do compare ourselves to others at some stage – but how often do you really look at the spiritual side of your life when you make those comparisons? And if you do, what is your conclusion? It is easy to think you are doing all the right things so you must be good... That is the world in which we live in; our success is a show of our dedication to doing the work which lies before us... But sometimes the work you do does not show up as a great success in your life!

Paul lays down the notion that he is nothing compared to others. He knows full well of all the things he does in Christ’s name and all the things which people look up to him for... but he tries to use simple words to describe his dedication to Christ rather than to the outside world. We try to measure our good works for Christ by how much we have done and how many people compliment us on the work we do whereas what we should be doing is getting on with Christ’s work and not being so concerned for the earthly response.

Paul described himself as being a fool, weak and despised. That seemed to be the view which earthly people had made of him and he quite gladly accepted that because he knew he was doing what Christ wanted and not what man wanted. You see, when we focus on the rewards as if they come from man, then we are going to do what man wants... but if we focus on the rewards from Christ, then we are going to do what Christ wants. When we do that, we can be assured He is just and willing to give us the rewards we deserve when they are best for us – our eternal life with Him. Why should we care for what the world thinks of us when it cannot pay us for what we do?

Points to Ponder:
What rewards do you look for?

Are you still working for Christ?