August 31

I'm not sure the Apostle Paul would have found his place in children's ministry if he were alive in this era. I can hear him now, "Johnny, if you want to cry, I'll give you something to cry about..." In today's reading, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, we find him speaking with a directness that would cause may of us to find a new church the following weekend. While certainly children's ministry is a place for an abundance of love and affection, many of us are still wanting to be coddled as if we were in grade school. May I be so bold as to say that what we need are people who love us enough to speak plainly to us, to be direct, to "Apostle Paul" us when necessary.

In verse 32 he equates his reprimand to how the Lord Himself pursues us by reminding us that being corrected is in fact a loving act so that we will not be condemned with the world. Are gentleness, softness, empathy, and comfort vital aspects of love? Absolutely! But may we not be a people who leave the rest of love behind! I Corinthians 11 love that is bold, direct, challenging, corrective, and telling should be equally celebrated!

Take some time today to read Luke 5:17-26. Two of the most poignant words in the entire account of the supernatural healing of the paralytic man were "get up." Yes he needed friends, yes he needed a divine encounter, yes he needed a revelation of Jesus, yes he needed to be forgiven...but yes he needed to get up. How many of us in an emotional sense, would rather be catered to, continue to be carried around by others, remain the victim instead of heeding the words of our loving Savior, "get up!" We read this historical account of Jesus but the practice of our lives implies that we have overlaid information that is not there. We live as if Jesus said, "Hey, could someone get this man's mat for him?" or "Hey, I know he can walk now but we need some volunteers to carry this poor man home, hasn't he been through enough today?" No...he heard Jesus say, "get up!"

I am not suggesting that compassion has no place in our lives, on the contrary! I am suggesting that true compassion is both comforting and courageous. Who in your life have you invited to speak to you with directness, to tell you no, to Apostle Paul you, to 1 Corinthians 11 you, to tell you to get up? May our churches be places where hurting people can come and find a gentle voice and a loving hand but also find a community of people who love each other enough to be confronted by trusted friends who care deeply and call us to "get up!"

Pastor Fred