May 21 - Overflow

1 Corinthians 3:1-17

In reading this passage, I see two sins of human nature that are easy for us as Christians to fall into. The first is working alone, and the second is pride. When it comes to how we work and live together in the kingdom of God, these two are things we can so easily fall victim to, myself included.

Here in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul is speaking to a group of Christians who haven't quite gotten it yet. They're not exactly living the life that God has called them to live, that Paul taught them through the gospels. That's why this letter arrived on their doorstep. But Paul goes on to talk about planting and seeds and growth, and there are two very important points he makes that coincides with these two sins.

The first point is that our growth happens in community through Christ. It is not on my shoulders alone to save someone, or help someone. I might plant a seed in someone, and that person might not meet Jesus even in my lifetime. But I have to trust that someone else will come along to water it and God will make it grow. We are not doing kingdom work alone. We are not even doing kingdom work just with our church or our city--we're doing kingdom work with the Church of the world, reaching people for Christ with compassion and love. And we do that work collectively.

The second point Paul makes regarding these sins is that it is not us who save. Verse 7 says, "So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." Sometimes our pride can get in the way of seeing the power of God. It is true joy to share Christ with someone and see them come to know Jesus, but when our pride starts to creep in it poisons our joy. In this passage, Paul humbles the Corinthians, and humbles us too. God alone saves. He causes us to know him, to grow in him.

So because of the solid foundation of Jesus, let's keep sharing the gospel leaning on those around us, knowing the weight of salvation isn't on our shoulders, but sharing out of the overflow of joy and light of Christ within us.