Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 9Uzorak

First Corinthians 16 concludes Paul's long letter to the church in Corinth with several business matters.

The first theme is in verses 1-4, where Paul refers to a collection he gathered for the saints in Jerusalem.

Paul saw the needs of the poor Christians and saw it as a moral duty which was well pleasing to God when one helped those in need.

LOGIA

The Greek word for “collection” is logia - which means an extra collection, meaning that it was not compulsory, but each member was free to give according to what they experienced in their hearts.

Paul is quite adamant when addressing the Corinth church, he didn’t see it as a choice but had an expectation that each member of the church would take responsibility for the Christians who were in need.

I love how Paul called each member of the Corinth church to take responsibility for the people and community around them - this shifted the focus from members of the church wanting to be consumers to become proactive contributors to the world around them.

Who are the people who are in need in your community or church? Have you thought about reaching out to them? Sometimes we think it takes a lot to reach out to people in need, but sometimes all that is needed is a phone call or an invitation to your house for dinner. Let’s be sensitive to those around us who might be in need.

The second theme starts in 1 Corinthians16:13-14CSB

“Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. “Do everything in love.”

All these concepts are practically more or less the same: stand firm, be courageous, be strong. But one thing that stands out to me here is the part that says, “Do everything in love”.

This reminds me of one of my favourite scriptures:

1 Cor 13:2 "If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing."

When we function from a place of Love, we are firmly rooted in Christ because he is Love. It’s much easier to stand firmly, be courageous and strong when focused on Christ.

Are your eyes fixed firmly on Christ? If not, what is standing in the way? Ask Jesus to come and help you shift your focus back to him and keep it there even when the ground around you may be shaky because he is our firm foundation.