Shade Tree Wisdom 9/29/09

Nice, rain-washed air, a gentle breeze, but it is dark when I walk. Good with the not so good, eh? Just like all of life, and we live it under God’s care and direction.

The letter to the Corinthians is full of advice, counsel, direction, and some scolding, to a young and growing group of believers who are experiencing problems along the way, just as we do today. And St Paul, inspired by the Holy Ghost, offers counsel.

In chapter 6 of the first latter the Apostle is dealing with court cases, and tells them not to take everything to court but settle things on their own. His question is: “If you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church. I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one wise enough to settle a dispute among the brothers? But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?” v. 4.5.

Earlier, in v. 2, he wrote, ”Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” Wow, what a statement. But we don’t see saints in ruling places, do we? Well, let’s stop a bit and remember what the New Testament means by ‘saint’. It is not speaking of some sanctimonious person who is ‘high and mighty’ in his own eyes.

No, the Bible means ‘separated people' people who are “in the world, but not of the world”. People who live, not driven by the wants and needs in the world around them, but led by the Spirit. They spend their lives doing thing like working hard, being dependable, raising godly children, doing their task in daily life without praise, praying faithfully for others, tending to the needs of people they see around them. They teach Sunday School, carry meals to shut-ins, drive seniors to doctors appointments, do countless other kindnesses without seeking, or getting, praise, or often not even a quiet word of thanks.

And the world takes note of such. These ‘saints’ do judge the world. Their lives and minds give a standard for judging of things. These saints have set moral and spiritual standards of behavior by which things are judged correctly. In the Roman world it was the custom to expose unwanted babies so that they died. They had no market value. The saints judged that world and found all babies were worthy before God.

The saints judged the world in the matter of human slavery and that trade was obliterated.

The saints bring into the eye of the world the clear standards of the Word of God. That’s how it happens. “So that they will see your good works, and glorify our Father who is in heaven”.

St. Paul ends this little section by reminding them that, although they had been open and desperate sinners, now they are “Washed, sanctified, justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” V,. 11. So the truth is, our lives DO make a difference, St. Paul says (1 Thess.4,11) “to walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.” That, let that be our goal as well.

GPD 9/29/09