PRAY: Lord Jesus, help us to remain faithful in the face of trials, struggles, and persecution from within the church and from without. Help us to remember when we are rejected and called names unfairly and unjustly that we walk the way you yourself walked, the way of the cross. Thank you that the resurrection is your promise.
READ: 1 Corinthians 4:8–13
MEDITATE:
Paul challenges the boasters with his very own sacrifices for the sake of the gospel. Paul uses irony to try to reach the Corinthians. He contrasts what the Corinthians have, what they think they have, with his own life as a servant of Jesus Christ. The Corinthians have everything they want. They are rich, kings, wise, strong, and honored.
All this Paul writes tongue in cheek. Paul and those who are apostles are like men condemned to die in the Roman arena. As a follower of Jesus, Paul is cursed and yet he blesses, persecuted and yet he endures it, slandered and yet he answers kindly. How much has Christ called us to endure for the sake of the gospel? One of the hardest things is to be persecuted by those you love, by those in the church.
Questions and Application:
- What does this passage say?
- What does this passage mean?
- Do you know of anyone who has been persecuted for the gospel?
- Was Paul’s suffering in vain?
PRAY: Lord Jesus, please work in the hearts of all those who persecute us. Give us your grace that our response may be love, as Christ loved those who nailed him to the cross.