Verse 3...
Why does Paul say that it is because of the grace given to him that he is going to speak to his audience? Well first of all, what is grace? In my mind it is undeserved forgiveness and love. Grace was shown to us by Jesus dying on the cross. He paid the price for our sins...he took away our shame...we did nothing to save ourselves. That is incredible grace. So why does "grace" enable Paul to speak tough words of warning ("Don't think too highly of yourself")? He wants the people reading his letter to know that he is coming from a place of grace...he is addressing them with love not judgment. His warning about not being arrogant is born from love, with the best interest of his audience at heart. Paul is saying, "Hey, I know what it is to be forgiven...I know what it is to be showered in the mercy of God. Because of that, I want you to know that I am speaking to you as one flawed person to another. And as one screw up to another, here is what you need to hear - don't be a self-absorbed idiot. People obsessed with themselves deny their need for God's grace and refuse to use their gifts to serve the kingdom of God." (Brandon paraphrase, obviously) In healthy Christian community, followers of Jesus should be able to speak hard truth to one another in love. They should be able to say tough things from a place of mercy, and they should be able to hear tough things graciously. Is that what your community looks like?
We should be able to look at our own lives with a sober judgment that is born from our faith? What does that mean? What does that look like? Well, first of all, it is a judgement that grows out of faith - so what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us very clearly, "Faith is being sure of what you hope for an certain of what you do not see." Faith is having certainty in God...it is understanding that this world is not our home - this is not our end goal. Faith is understanding what really matters. So how does faith drive sober judgment of ourselves? When you have a foundation of true faith, you can look at your life honestly. Faith helps to remove the defensive pride that often blinds us to the flaws within our own character. Sober judgment that comes from faith makes it so that you don't have to be right...you don't have to be selfish...you can be honest about who you are and where you fit in the workings of the Body of Christ. Why? Because your faith in God has showed you who you are - you are not in a constant competition to be better than everyone else...to prove your worth...because you know what you are worth to God. Faith offers us the freedom to look honestly at ourselves and to see what needs work and to understand how deeply we need God's mercy. When you look at life through the eyes of faith, you can ask other people for help...you can celebrate other peoples' victories...everything is not a competition - you can function in community! It is a beautiful thing.
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