Read: I Corinthians 1:21-23
This passage is from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians written during his third missionary journey. Corinth was a major trade center and seaport at that time and as you can well imagine, it was also a hotbed of crime, idolatry and immorality. It was a challenging place and time to build a church. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul sought to guide the struggling believers as to how they were to best maintain their faith and be authentic Christians in an environment that was rife with unbelief and skepticism.
God in his infinite wisdom knew that belief in him would be a “hard sell” for some. The Jews were convinced that when the Messiah came, he would be great and mighty and “kingly” and not the humble Jesus born in a manger. They could not understand how his death on the cross would be all that is needed for our salvation and continued to be obsessed with works and traditions. The simplicity of this mighty act was foolishness to them.
The Greeks on the other hand were influenced by philosophers. They were the academics who had a long tradition of many mythological gods. To them, Jesus, the son of a carpenter, did not match the mythological gods of their traditions. They did not think that any reputable Messiah would allow themselves to be crucified in the manner of a common criminal and thus they rejected Jesus.
Take a minute to read the passage again and ask yourself… What is the basis of my belief in God?
Sometimes our belief is strongest when all is going well for us and we are being blessed richly and often by God. It is easier to praise him when all is going well. Our prayer life can start to waver when things are not going so well, and it can be harder to tell others of God’s goodness when we are struggling to feel it ourselves. I encourage us not to be like the Jews with their unbelief even after being delivered from 10 plagues in the Exodus from Egypt, by wanting God to prove himself repeatedly to us. Let us not also be like the Greeks who had more faith in mythological gods than in Jesus who had walked among them. We should be steadfast in our belief and not swayed by life circumstances or old beliefs.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the good news of the Gospel. Please keep my belief in you strong when I encounter those who do not love you as I do. Keep my belief in you strong when the circumstances of life or my rationalizing can weaken it. Thank you for loving me. Amen.
Marcia Cort
This passage is from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians written during his third missionary journey. Corinth was a major trade center and seaport at that time and as you can well imagine, it was also a hotbed of crime, idolatry and immorality. It was a challenging place and time to build a church. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul sought to guide the struggling believers as to how they were to best maintain their faith and be authentic Christians in an environment that was rife with unbelief and skepticism.
God in his infinite wisdom knew that belief in him would be a “hard sell” for some. The Jews were convinced that when the Messiah came, he would be great and mighty and “kingly” and not the humble Jesus born in a manger. They could not understand how his death on the cross would be all that is needed for our salvation and continued to be obsessed with works and traditions. The simplicity of this mighty act was foolishness to them.
The Greeks on the other hand were influenced by philosophers. They were the academics who had a long tradition of many mythological gods. To them, Jesus, the son of a carpenter, did not match the mythological gods of their traditions. They did not think that any reputable Messiah would allow themselves to be crucified in the manner of a common criminal and thus they rejected Jesus.
Take a minute to read the passage again and ask yourself… What is the basis of my belief in God?
Sometimes our belief is strongest when all is going well for us and we are being blessed richly and often by God. It is easier to praise him when all is going well. Our prayer life can start to waver when things are not going so well, and it can be harder to tell others of God’s goodness when we are struggling to feel it ourselves. I encourage us not to be like the Jews with their unbelief even after being delivered from 10 plagues in the Exodus from Egypt, by wanting God to prove himself repeatedly to us. Let us not also be like the Greeks who had more faith in mythological gods than in Jesus who had walked among them. We should be steadfast in our belief and not swayed by life circumstances or old beliefs.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the good news of the Gospel. Please keep my belief in you strong when I encounter those who do not love you as I do. Keep my belief in you strong when the circumstances of life or my rationalizing can weaken it. Thank you for loving me. Amen.
Marcia Cort