As I was reading 1 Corinthians, I was stopped short in the first chapter. The first chapter. I don't know about you guys, but when I think of the first chapter of Paul's letters I think of boring introduction and exhortation. Boy was I wrong! There are a couple verses outside of these that I could talk about, but I'm going to focus on verses 26-31.
First, I'll deal with verses 26-29. I have been reading from God's Word translation, often abbreviated GW. This is my God Girl Bible. I love it because it has little devotionals in it that put some passages into perspective. The God Girl theme is all about Prov 31 and becoming a woman of God. Anyway, enough rabbit trail; here are the verses:
"Brothers and sisters, consider what you were when God called you to be Christians. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view. You were not in powerful positions or in the upper social classes. But God chose what the world considers nonsense to put wise people to shame. God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame. God chose what the world considers ordinary and what it despises—what it considers to be nothing—in order to destroy what it considers to be something. As a result, no one can brag in God’s presence."
At first you may be like "Whaaaaaaaaa?" Listen to what it's saying. God uses the people who's life is perfect- is that what it says? NO! This passage is saying God uses the broken people to put the world to shame! God uses those who are considered inferior, stupid, never-gonna-amount-to-anything people and turns them into something the world could never fathom. Do you know how encouraging that is?! We don't have to be perfect! It's okay that we're messed up! So what if people make fun of us or say we'll never be something special? God shakes His head at them and says, "No, I've claimed this one. I'll make sure you see how powerful I am." The world thinks they can brag because of something that's accomplished. God blows their minds. But the person who was transformed is in awe of the God who would even care just a little about him. This allows no one to brag. God is the Mastermind.
Verses 30-31 are also encouraging. Not only does God use the broken people, but He also partners them with Christ! Listen to this:
"You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our approval, our holiness, and our ransom from sin. As Scripture says, 'Whoever brags must brag about what the Lord has done.'”
My Bible devotional states it best: "Partners are two people who share in doing something together; they work together toward a common goal. This is a big deal, because it means that when you feel like you can't do what's right, that's okay, because he can. It means that even though you may not realize it or feel like it right now, you have the wisdom of Jesus on your side-and not only that but His righteousness and holiness as well. That means that He is enough. You may fail, you may mess up royally, but you have been made a partner with Christ, and so He will get you out of your mess if you are willing to let Him. You just need to trust Him to do it." That is encouraging to me. It makes me think of the verse, "When I am weak, He is strong." We are partners with Christ. That is such an awesome blessing!
As we all know, Christmas is less than a month away. It's already December! Because of Jesus' birth as a baby, He could become sin to take away our sin so we could be partners with Him. That is how much He loves us. He loves us so much that even though we spit in His face and crush His name in the mud He still chose the cross so that one day we can live with Him forever. We can call Him and trust Him with our lives. We don't have to suffer alone anymore. I don't know about you, but suffering alone is the most depressing thing ever. Jesus gave His life so that He can help us and support us. He'll never leave you or forsake you.
Partners in Christ....what a phrase!
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