During an
adult Sunday school a participant offered their thoughts, but the discussion
leader came right behind them with a verbal eraser and wiped out their comment.
It’s unfortunate that many teachers and leaders get so focused on their
prepared train of thought that they fail to see the Spirit speaking through
those others they are leading. If we were in a worldly setting most of us would
fight for the right to have our opinion heard. However, following the example
of Paul, believers often set aside their own rights, “But we did not use this
right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel
of Christ” (1 Cor 9:12b NIV).
1 comment:
Gail;
-----“I am a sojourner on earth; hide not thy commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for thy ordinances at all times.” (Ps 119:19-20) I think we all understand Heaven as the place where no sin will exist and Hell as the place where no good will be. We live at the cross section of those two kingdoms (metaphorically speaking.) Hell is the place of “FEED ME I INSIST”. Heaven is the place of “feeding you I will enjoy”. Their intersection makes an interesting mix. It is no wonder the Man of Perfection’s fate was the feeding of us all with His very life. This was the laying down of His ultimate right.
-----We are to reflect Christ in our new lives. But discerning need from greed is complicated and difficult, and we imperfect followers just do not have the mental tools to do it efficiently and accurately. So we get desensitized to the intimacy such discernment it requires. For the most part, we are too preoccupied with the effort our own survival and comfort require to notice the toes we step.
-----When our minds become framed with the fact that, being born again, our substance is no longer of this world, they become framed with the processes of Heaven. And we become more alive in our new kingdom the more we learn, understand, and practice the principles of His Heaven. Then, in this place where there is another brand of existence sucking up every benefit it is able to capture, “my rights” become at best a secondary wish behind “my Lord’s righteousness.”
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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