If the contentious Corinthians were not the proverbial “thorn” in Paul’s flesh they were certainly a pain in the you know what. And yet his heart “wide open” is willing to endure ridicule and rejection for the sake of these people puffed up with pride who have accepted the grace of God in vain. Not that Paul is without fault. Lord knows he can be arrogant and rude, but in this case I believe he is genuine in his affection and his desire that the grace of God overcome the obstacle the Corinthian Christians have put in its way. That’s because unity within the body of Christ is essential to the mission of the church. So it is with us when relationships within the body of Christ are strained and divisions and dissent cause us to close our hearts to one another. But if we recognize that today is the acceptable time, today is the day of salvation, then the temporal matters over which we might argue lose their import and we are able to live the freedom found in the grace of God. That means we live today in the way we will when all things are made new. There will be no divisions in the forever future. The vast multitude of every race and language will sing the same song and eat from the same table on the holy mountain and no one will be greater or less than anyone else. The church is meant to be a reflection of that future so that those outside the church will come to believe that the Lord has listened to them as well and the acceptable time is always now, the day of salvation always available.
No comments:
Post a Comment