Observation: Paul is writing to Christians in Corinth about the beginnings of their relationship, when he first gathered this community together in Christ. Although Paul is a very gifted speaker and writer, he did not use "lofty words or wisdom" to share Christ with them, but "to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Instead of fancy speeches, Paul chose to preach Jesus' story, and let the Spirit take over.
Application: I've said it before that I am a professional over-thinker. It's what I do, and I dare say I've gotten pretty good at it. There's no lily I can't gild; no molehill I can't make a mountain of; no simple, straight-forward truth I can't expand upon and make more complicated than it needs to be.
I say that ironically, but the truth is sometimes I really do get wrapped up in language and ideas about God when I preach, and forget to tell the simple story of Jesus Christ, the crucified one. There's a lot more to say about our faith than "Jesus died for us," but it is the foundation of any authentic statement we can make about God, about love, and about our understanding of the nature of the universe. There's plenty I know, plenty I think I know, and much, much more that I don't, but sometimes "Jesus died for us" is enough. So that's where I'll leave it for today.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for giving your life for me and for all. Help me to trust that your way of self-giving love is indeed the way, the truth and the life. Amen.
Sometimes, LESS is MORE!.
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