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1 Corinthians 1:10-13
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
New International Version (NIV)
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While I was in seminary, Melanie and I once had an eventful week in Ivanhoe, Texas. I had never been to Ivanhoe, but I had read the book in high school. It turns out the book and city are not necessarily related. Every night I preached in revival services. We sang an Andrae Crouch song, “We need to hear from you. We need a word from you. If we don’t hear from you, what will we do". While we were singing one night, a storm traversed the nearby Red River and pummeled us with hail. The lights went out and hail covered the ground, and decimated my Ford Fairmont. Not good. The tornado accompanying the hail missed the church. Good.
While there, I met a distant relative on my mom’s side named Henry Earl Ridings. It turns out that my ancestors settled in that area and named the Ridings community after themselves. They also started a Baptist church. For some reason they named the church Corinth. I had never been to Corinth, but I have read the books! It turns out the books and the church are related. You may remember the Corinthians had issues which Paul addressed in his letters. It turns out the Corinth Baptist Church in Ridings also had issues. I read their original church minutes and found that my Great Great Grandfather Alfred Lafayette Ridings was a charter member. I read in the minutes written in pencil that they voted him out for dancing. Then they voted him back in when he repented. Alas. He danced again.
The biggest problem in Corinth seems to have been their divisions over personalities. They divided the church over their loyalty to Paul, Apollos and Peter. Some cast a pox on all three of their houses, saying, “I follow Christ.” Christ, it turns out cannot be divided. We are the body of Christ. We can live in perfect unity of mind, because Paul goes on to say, “We have the mind of Christ.” Christians find our unity not in politics, not in preferences of musical styles, not in a theological system, but in Christ alone. If Christ is not enough to unite Christians, nothing else ever will. He is enough. His mind lives in us. If we think like Jesus, there is a strong likelihood that we will talk like him and live like him. That would be really good!
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At the risk of a hail storm, pray with me the revival song we sang:
Word of God, eternal in the heavens, “we need to hear from you. We need a word from you. If we don’t hear from you, what will we do? Wanting you more each day, show us your perfect way. There is no other way that we can live.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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| This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan. Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download
the app at readscripture.org. Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully,
Duane
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