WHAT DID I SAY?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the
gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of
Christ be emptied of its power.
(1 Corinthians 1:17)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever been listening to a speaker and when he or she said
something in particular, you thought, “Wow, that was profound!”.
For a moment (or possibly longer), did it create a desire in you to
hear the speaker again, because you were impressed with what 
you heard them say?

What about those times in your own life when you had to speak in
front of a group of people? Did you ever say something unplanned
and think to yourself,
    “That was really good!”

You may have felt that you had an untapped wisdom which you
needed to explore more fully. When we realize we may have said
something that sounded good to our own ears, it can be uplifting,
encouraging, and create confidence in us when we speak to other
groups in the future.

But, with these thoughts as a background, we need to consider how
to approach speaking out for the Lord. Paul explains to us that our
attitude should be one of humility. We shouldn’t be trying to think
of profound things to say to show others how wise and smart we are.
We should be focused on speaking about the Lord and not on trying
to impress or influence the opinions of others about our wisdom.

The question we may have is,
    “Shouldn’t we enjoy speaking out for the Lord?”
Of course we should enjoy any, and all opportunities that we have
to talk about the Lord, and point others toward Jesus. However,
we need to enjoy it for all the right reasons.

Paul says that whenever we fail to show humility, we are actually
diluting the magnitude of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He
tells us that our mission is to share about the Lord without trying
to sound wise and eloquent to others.

If our attitude is wrong, then others will be too focused on us instead
of the Lord; they will miss the message of the cross. This is an injustice
to what the “cross of Christ” means to the world. He suffered for all of
mankind and we should never dilute what Jesus did on the cross (out of
His love for all people, including those who choose not to return His love).

ACTION:
As believers, we may not be called to preach or teach, but we all
have a message to share with others. God has given us a mission
to point others to the Lord in the way He has chosen for each of
us individually.

We should never be pious or ‘preachy’ (which can cause us to
appear condescending of others). We are to be simple and real,
because it has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with
Jesus.

Have you ever thought about your responsibility as a believer?
What are you doing to point others to Jesus Christ? Are you
excited when you have an opportunity to share how the Lord
is involved in your life?

Have your words and actions been an effort to make others think
more highly of you and your faith, or is your intent to help others
realize and appreciate the love of Jesus, and what He did for all of
us, including them?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your Son to provide
me with an opportunity to receive Your salvation. Help me to
realize the importance of my mission to point others to Jesus.
Forgive me for any selfish attempts to impress the opinion of
others about me instead of trying to help them understand the
full impact of the cross and what it meant when Jesus showed
His ultimate love for everyone. Jesus, thank You for what You
did for me, and I pray that You will teach me to use the spiritual
gift I have been given, to point others to You.”

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