Posted by: Anna What makes a Christian a Christian? What shows that they are Christian? No doubt you all know about spiritual gifts. They're talked about in more than one place, but I'm going to be primarily focusing on 1 Corinthians, chapters 12, 13, and 14. So let's dive right in! "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? "But earnestly desire the higher gifts. "And I will show you a still more excellent way." 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 That's quite the chunk. . . let's break it down. Basically, we have the 'list' of spiritual gifts; prophesy, teaching, healing, speaking in tongues, and so forth. But before this, we're told that we are individual members in the body of Christ. Then the list. Next, Paul asks several rhetorical questions- "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?" he goes down through the list. What is he saying here? The obvious answer to those questions is 'no'. Don't know about you, but I don't speak in tongues. I do not possess gifts of healing, I'm not really a teacher, I'm not really a prophet. Let's go back to the beginning- individual members in the body of Christ, appointed by God in the church. What does that imply? This is a concept not just used when explaining spiritual gifts. The body of Christ. What does that make you think of, 'body'? A body has different parts for different functions, right? "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" 1 Corinthians 12:21 Paul is clearly telling us that as individual members of the same body, we are all necessary, all important. And as individuals with different spiritual gifts, the same applies. We can't have a body of just prophets, of just teachers, of just healers. So in the end, we see that each spiritual gift isn't really greater than the other. They're different, and some of them have a more noticeable impact, but they're all important. But wait a second! What about the second to last sentence? "But earnestly desire the higher gifts." To me, this was always 'okay, I guess some of the gifts are greater than others.' But my pastor cleared that up when he explained- it's a mistranslation! The actual text says: "But you earnestly desire the greater gifts." It's an accusatory statement, not a command. Alright, so what do we have so far? The gifts are all important. Different but important. Where am I really getting with all this? Well, when I learned, or came to understand, all of this in Bible study at my church the other day, what we mostly dwelt on was just that- all of the gifts are important. We discussed the differences, how they can be applied to our lives, etc. But what stood out to me was what comes next. "And I will show you a still more excellent way." Right after saying that, Paul goes into the 'love chapter', telling us what love is, and how vital it is. But look at in the context of what we just read. After all, the Bible wasn't separated into chapters when it was written- Paul is still on the same general thought. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." Now that is powerful stuff. Just read it again. When reading the list of spiritual gifts, it's easy to think, 'Man, I wish I could prophesy. Or speak in tongues. Or perform miracles. Now that would be serving God. That would be awesome!' But look at what Paul just said! Speaking in tongues, but not having love, is to be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. In other words, annoying and useless and wrong. To have prophetic powers, to have all knowledge, even to have the faith to move mountains, but not to love. . . it's nothing. Paul accuses his readers of seeking the gifts they/the world deemed as higher. Then, he tells us that he will show us a better way. And what are the next words we see? The love chapter! He is saying that love is the better way. Compared to love, all of the 'awesome' spiritual gifts are nothing. Now does that mean that they're useless, not worth our time? Of course not. The first verse of chapter 14 says: "Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy." He tells us to earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. And we should! We should want to be able to serve God to the best of our abilities, and should therefore desire whatever gifts He chooses to give us to allow that. And Paul even says 'especially that you may prophesy'. I'm not going to expound on this much, but I will note that, as we discussed in that Bible study, prophesy isn't necessarily what you might think of- like Jonah. You don't really need to tell an entire city of coming judgment from God to be a prophet. Really, it's just delivering God's message. Being given it, and then giving it. Maybe your friend is struggling with something you don't know about- God might open your eyes to it and give you the encouragement to give your friend. Still, notice what Paul instructs us to do before earnestly desiring the spiritual gifts. Pursue love. "Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge; it will pass away." 13:8 "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 13:13 What is it we should truly pursue? What is it we should desire? What is the better way? What is the greatest gift? Love. The greatest gift is love.
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Posted by: Anna
Now if you're like me, you probably didn't think much of idolatry for most of your life, or perhaps still don't. After all, it would seem that us Christians really don't have the issue of having to choose between giving our offering to an invisible God or a golden calf. But recently, I realized that idolatry isn't just statues. It really is a big issue. Big issue. What do you think of when you think of idolatry? The Israelites worshipping a golden calf instead of God? Of course, that is idolatry. However. . . ". . . and covetousness, which is idolatry." Col. 3:5 Wait a second! Covetousness is idolatry? Apparently. Let's take a closer look at covetousness. "Feeling or showing a very strong desire for something that you do not have and especially something that belongs to someone else." Wanting something that belongs to someone else. . . yep. We can (or should) all admit to that. You might want your friend's new bike, you might want their big house, you might want their looks, you might want their 'perfect personality'. And according to the Bible, when we want something that isn't ours and belongs to our neighbor (or anyone we know), that's idolatry. Now let's get to another point on why idolatry is a bigger issue than you might have thought. 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 says: "What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God." I know what you're thinking. . . We don't offer sacrifices anymore, and according to this verse, sacrifices to anything but God is idolatry. So, idolatry, at least for us, has pretty well been eliminated. Romans 12:1 says: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Connecting dots? Paul says that our form of spiritual worship is offering sacrifices. . . just not of animals. Nope, instead, we offer ourselves. We are to be a 'living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God'. Let's take a look at the term 'living sacrifice'. What exactly does that mean? Well, the sacrifice of animals was where they killed the animal and offered it to God. Not a living sacrifice. Basically, we are supposed to live for God. A sacrifice is an offering, where you 'give' something? We need to give our lives to God. Does that mean going to church on Sunday, listening to Christian music occasionally, trying to avoid most rated-R movies, not doing drugs, maybe praying for your sick friend? Uh, no. A living sacrifice is everything, all of it, all laid out on the table. We LIVE for God. Thus the verse: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinth. 10:31) EVERYTHING we do should be done for God. Now ask yourself what you spend most of your time doing. My answer is easy: writing. I'd say at least 80% of my free time is spent writing books, or occasionally doing writing for a blog like this. I write a lot. Some other items on my list would be drawing, watching movies, taking care of my dog, surfing the internet, and emailing friends. What does that say about what my life is spent on? Was reading my Bible, praying, volunteering, or going to Bible studies on my list? So if by just reading that list, and having never actually met me, you had to guess what was most important to me. . . what would you guess? Writing. Art. The internet. My dog. Do you see what I'm getting at??? We are supposed to offer our lives as living sacrifices to God, meaning we give Him our time and effort and interest. Idolatry is when we offer that sacrifice (our time, effort, and interest) to something other than Him. That's a bit depressing, honestly. Under those standards, I should really never be writing unless I'm writing something like this or maybe a Christian book. I shouldn't be drawing unless it is somehow something God told me to do, or something I think will further His Kingdom. I shouldn't be surfing the internet unless I know there's something there to grow my relationship with Christ. (And that is not very common!) So do we have to read our Bibles, pray, and minister to the homeless with all of our free time? No! That's just it! Let's look at that verse again. . . "So whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God." That's the amazing thing! Paul is saying that even when we are eating and drinking, we can be glorifying God. How? Step 1: You knew it was coming! WWJD. What would Jesus do? If Jesus was doing your schoolwork instead of you, would He be complaining, taking shortcuts, or not giving His best effort? Step 2: WWYDIJWT? No, you don't need to feel like a bad Christian if you don't know that one- I just made it up. 'What would you do if Jesus was there?' Before you say "Well, He is." let me explain. (though we should have that mindset) If Jesus was physically in the room with you, sitting on the couch next to you (for us homeschoolers) while you were thoroughly enjoying (sarcasm) a challenging algebra lesson, would you start whining to your mom? Would you choose a random answer for lack of interest or maybe grab the calculator you're not supposed to be using? Didn't think so. Finally, step 3: This is basically just a different angle for step 1 and 2, but still. Scripture! Psalm 119:11 says "I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Now an elaborate knowledge of the Bible is not the true mark of a Christian. Its their relationship with Jesus. However! You're not going to find that relationship nearly as possible without your instruction manual! Even as you're doing school, you can apply the teachings of the Bible. Have patience. Be joyful. Praise God and be thankful. Be content. Be honest. Okay, I know this is a bit long, but I am wrapping up! I want to note something before we finish. Can we sin for the glory of God? Can we be singing Amazing Grace while cheating on a test and maybe ask for God's forgiveness even as we're doing it, then say that it wasn't a sin? Can we surf the internet and not only waste our time, but also quite possibly look at stuff that, when you get down to it, just isn't necessary; but do it with a cheerful, content attitude and be completely in the right? No. Because that is still idolatry. We are still putting the cheating above God. We are still willfully choosing to surf the internet instead of doing something more useful and more glorifying to God. Now! All that said! Let's get back to my list. And to the schoolwork analogy I've been using. When I was talking about complaining, choosing a random answer for lack of interest, and such. . . I wasn't making it up. I'm going to admit that my attitude about school has very much not conformed to the WWJD and WWYDIJWT, or step 3. But I'd like to change that. And I'd challenge you to find what you need to change and do it. I'd challenge you to discover your idols, the things that mean more to you than God, and fix it. But under that. . . keep in mind! I'm not saying I'm going to spend significantly less time writing or drawing. I'm saying that I'm going to do it to glorify God. That means I might incorporate God into my books, even when they're fantasy fiction, or it might just mean that, when I'm writing, I'm willing to pause to go do chores instead of being cranky about it. And it might just mean that, when I draw, I make sure I never draw anything that I know is wrong, or that I make sure my purpose in drawing isn't to be able to boast in my skills, but to glorify God. So back to what you would think was most important to me based off my list. What if you did know me, spent enough time with me to see me do all of these things; and what if I put into practice all this stuff, and was doing it all for God's glory. . . then what would you say is most important to me? Wouldn't you agree that there are just some people that really do shine Jesus? That no matter what they're doing, they've got a cheerful attitude? They're humble? That is what we need to be aiming for. The Bible says we can glorify God when we are eating and drinking. Don't you think we can glorify Him, therefore offering our lives to Him instead of to idols, with our free time- be it spent biking, drawing, hanging out with friends, playing sports, doing photography? Make sure God is first and foremost in your life. |
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