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 you want to hear the speaker
again because you were very impressed with what was said?

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 and think
to yourself,
    “That was really good!”
You may have even had a tingling feeling when you realized that
something that deep came from you.

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 for speaking 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 say
profound things in an effort to show how wise and smart we are. We
should be focused on speaking about the Lord and not on trying to
influence the opinion others have of us, and 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 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 the Lord without making any
effort to sound wise and eloquent to others

If our attitude is wrong, then others will be too focused on us and
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 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. Our mission in life is to point
others to the Lord in whatever way He has chosen for each of us
individually. We are not to be pious or ‘preachy’ (which can seem
condescending to 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 your
actions and words 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 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 Him.
Forgive me for any selfish attempts to impress the opinion of
others about me, and failing to help them understand the full
impact of the cross and what it meant when Jesus showed His
ultimate love for everyone. Jesus, I thank You for what You
did and I pray that You will teach me to use the spiritual gift
You have given me to point others to You.”

BLOG: utvolwoody.com