The Word

My husband sent out this email to our house church last night. I was really encouraged by what Wade is learning in the word and what God is stirring in his heart to think and ponder about so I thought I'd share it with you all.

{Reading in 1 Corinthians today was interesting to me. In chapter 4, verses 8-16 (bear with me):

"Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings--and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me."

So humbling!!!!! We are that verse for certain! We have all we want; we are rich by 95% of the world's standards. Yet it is the plight of the Christians thousands of miles away that captivates our souls and the eyes of the unbelievers. We Christians here are thought of as wise, good people, but the Christians in China or Vietnam or Iraq are considered fools. Those Christians barely have food to survive. They're beaten and hated by their neighbors. Yet they turn and bless their captors. Christians in India really embody the "scum of the earth, the refuse of the world." They are a lower caste and survive by bathing in water infested with parasites and bacteria/viruses that would have you and I literally crying for God to take away the pain. Yet they endure. But there's hope. Paul says that this should not be a source of shame to us, but a warning. Although we have our churches and our families and our friends, we lack mentors. We lack people who will correct us when we're wrong. We lack people who challenge us if we believe false gospels. That is why Paul says "you do not have many fathers... I urge you to imitate me." So my question: Who is your mentor? If you fall, who will correct you? (PS: The answer is not "my spouse".... that answer is a fail. God says very clearly "the two shall become one," thus your spouse is part of you. I've seen so many couples start their life as Christians only to fall away together because they egg on each others false beliefs.)

Also, ponder this vague question that God laid on my heart. No need for deep answers (unless you have one). Just pray about it, seek God's guidance, and be honest with yourself. The question is: Where are you going and why are you going there?}  

Great words for us to think about too. God laid out very clearly for us in Titus what it looks like to be in a mentoring relationship. How we as women are made to one another each other. Yet in our society today we are so quick to put that wisdom aside and think we know better than the generations that have come before us. But God has given us those women to teach us and correct us when we have gone astray from the Truth.