13 Stay awake, stand firm in your faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Everything should be done in love.
Reflection
The church in Corinth was really struggling with how to follow Jesus, to follow what Paul called “the way of love” (1 Cor. 14:1). I think today we are also struggling with how to follow Jesus in the current world we are living in. It feels like we are constantly distracted by the mean-spiritedness, hatred and evil going on around us. It can feel overwhelming at times, we may be tempted to give up. Paul’s words offer us encouragement and a way forward. Paul gave the Corinthians what some study Bibles call the “Five Mandates” to use as a guide. These steps are as helpful for us today as they were for the early Christians in Corinth.
The first step is Stay Awake. We need to be spiritually awake, guarding our hearts and minds against the temptations and apathy of the world. We need to keep our eyes open to what is happening around us so we can be prepared to act. The second step is to Stand Firm in Your Faith. God is always with us, we will be tempted to doubt or be overwhelmed by life, but we can count on the promises found in scripture to reassure us. The step third is to Be Brave. When we follow Jesus we will face challenges and criticism, but don’t give in, we need to stand
up for justice and compassion. The fourth step is Be Strong. None of us has unlimited strength, we can’t rely on our own strength but we can rely on God to help us each day. The fifth step is the most important, Everything Should Be Done in Love. Standing firm in our faith, Being Brave and Strong, all of these things if not done in love, are just empty gestures.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering and Prayer
Our entire being is anchored in God’s love. It’s God’s love for us, shown to us through Christ, that is the foundation for our loving others. It is the filter through which we decide how to act towards others. We live in a countercultural world where we are condemned for showing empathy and compassion, for being kind and meeting people where they are. But this selfless,
sacrificial love, the fruit of the Spirit, flows out through us, into the world that so needs to experience and be transformed by God’s love.
Which of these five steps do you struggle with? Ask God to help you to grow in those
areas of your life as you follow Jesus.
Prayer: Holy and Loving God, thank you for loving us. Help us to follow Jesus during the times we struggle and to remember that everything we do should be done in love, as you have loved us. Amen.
