“I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. For some say, ‘His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.’ Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:9-11 (NIV)

We ought to be living a consistent life. Often we end up acting different in front of people compared to when they are far off. We are quiet, unassuming, nice, godly people on the surface, but as soon as there’s no one around, our selfish nature seems to surge out, and we start doing and thinking things we should not. We might praise someone publicly, but behind their backs gossip and slander. Paul’s case is not as extreme as hypocrisy. While people don’t take him seriously when he is with them in person, they become anxious because his letters to them are “weighty and forceful.” However, he gently reminds them that he and the other letter writers have not changed – the same way they would be in person is the same way they write letters, and the same way they write letters is the same way they would be in person.

So, we should work to be that way as well. Though some people are not very good at public speaking, the lives we live should still be in line with Scripture, and our private lives should reflect God as well. I’ve heard it said that integrity is what we do when only God is watching. It’s our aim, because our witness depends on the authenticity of our lives.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

As it has been hashed out before, the Christian life is one full of death. We die every day to our own lives, to our selfishness, our sin, our old way of doing things. However, this death is not one of permanence. We are then reborn, or “born again” as new creations in Christ. This life that is now in us is what motivates us to do good – to love others, think for others, etc. This life is the source of our joy. This life brings us purpose and fulfillment to us. The world is a pale and dim shadow compared to the vibrant view of eternity awaiting for the believer.

Now, the only way to gain this life is by believing into Jesus Christ, a somewhat difficult task. I don’t mean difficult as in intellectually challenging, as though Christianity was illogically based, but it is extremely difficult for someone to admit that they cannot achieve everything on their own, and that they need to depend on someone superior to them. I don’t know about anyone else, but I often have a difficult time acquiescing to those who purport to be better than me. I’m sure everyone knows the type – the cocky, arrogant, “I’m better than you and I know it” type of person that just oozes with condescension. To be honest, those types of people make me angry and defensive, and in a battle of pride we try to duel to win each other’s respect. Now, if I find it difficult to get along with someone like that (I’m not even going to go into what would happen if I were to become this person’s disciple), I think that admitting to a supreme God would be totally difficult. Therefore, while God’s gift is freely offered to everyone, and anyone who believes and has a relationship with Christ is saved, it’s totally understandable that the majority of the world has refused to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The simplicity of the message prevents so many people from accepting it – Paul says that it’s a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23). It confounds the religious, and frustrates the intellectual, because when it comes right down to it, people would rather think that they have to achieve great things than to admit that they are totally helpless.

But I’m getting off the subject. What’s super cool about the very above passage is that the death Christians die to themselves is what leads to that holiness that Christians are becoming. And while everyone goes through troubles in life, Christians seem to have a knack for being more joyful and peaceful about what’s going on in their lives. That’s a major difference between someone who has hope for eternity and someone who doesn’t. The focus of Christians is on God, on the eternal, and from that the old, selfish nature dies and the God-loving, joyful, new self begins to live. And from that, faith becomes real to life, and not simply a philosophy. For Christianity is not a list of beliefs akin to “wishful thinking,” but the offer of an eternal life which is grounded in reality.

In conclusion (I always wanted to do that because it was banned in school), life is and totally needs to be grounded in faith. Without faith, there is no life. And without life, umm, well, it’s not good. Okay, so I lost my train of thought. But, it’s important to see that because of the glory of the life of Jesus Christ, we as Christians do not lose heart. I hope that that glory shines in my life every day.

Today Ronnie talked about the “life of faith,” exemplified by Abraham. Probably the key thing I got out of the message was that God is more interested in our trust in Him than our perfection. Not that we shouldn’t be seeking perfection, but our faith and trust need to be placed in God, and not in people or things. In fact, God rewards us for our faith, despite our imperfections. It’s really comforting to know that, since I mess up all the stinking time. I feel more confident in seeking God more because I know He’s interested in my heart more than my actions, and in turn my actions are authentic and genuine. It’s really cool how that goes.

This goes along with the next point. Ronnie also said that he’s never met someone who was so focused on heaven that they neglected life on Earth. I tend to agree with him. While I contend that it’s possible to have an incorrect focus on heaven that they neglect life on Earth, truly “spiritual” people who spend their lives focused on Jesus Christ do not forget the world in which they live. For someone to have their head in the clouds is not to possess the focus that Scripture teaches. It is the same way Christ lived in this world – by having His entire focus and relationship set with His Father, He was able to meet the needs of the people around. By looking up we are then able to see the needs around us. God’s amazing, isn’t He? It seems so paradoxical, that by thinking of others we heal our personal hurts, by looking up we can joyfully look around, which brings me to Jim Elliot’s great quote: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Lord, help me to keep my focus on You, regardless, and that my life would be a paradigm of faith. I pray that Your glory would be shown to all of Your creation, and that You would be duly worshiped as King and Sovereign Creator.

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:56-58 (NIV)

I think it’s great that there is a resurrection of the dead. Throughout chapter 15 Paul reasons that without the resurrection of the dead, Christians are “to be pitied more than all men” (v. 19). It is because of the resurrection of the dead that we can be joyful in life, since if there is no life after death, we might as well waste away our time and life. Or, as Scripture puts it, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (Isaiah 22:13, 1 Corinthians 15:32).

Since we have this hope for eternity, Christians have a hope that carries them through their lives here on Earth. Without this hope, there isn’t any reason to study hard, make good grades, get a degree, make money, or anything like that – none of that stuff satisfies, and if we can’t look forward to something better in the future, we should just reduce ourselves to animals, only satisfying our carnal desires. Although it can be argued that working to leave a legacy behind in this world, or to improve society as a whole, is a worthy reason to do good, I disagree. Humans as we know them today have been around for maybe 10,000 years. Let’s assume macroevolution works (it doesn’t). This assumes the age of the universe is billions of years old, and so the amount of time humans have been around is incredibly small. Now, extrapolate that to the future, when humans may die out because of disease, natural disaster, etc., etc. (it seems like the universe is out to kill us all). What good is society 10 million years from now? Will anyone remember someone’s deeds on that time scale? Will anyone care about it? Probably not. I’m not exactly sure what I was trying to prove – I don’t think I was going for anything, but I’m merely pointing out that the improvement of the human race as a whole should not provide adequate fulfillment for those people who desire for significance.

So then, as Christians, who have this greater hope and joy through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, every activity should be with purpose and significance. This involves every activity of our life: whether we’re sleeping, going to class, doing homework, playing video games, hanging out with friends, serving others, we ought to put our whole selves into the work. This glorifies God, and this is the worship that He desires from our lives.

“Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophesy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’”
- 1 Corinthians 14:22-25 (NIV)

This passage has confused me for a while. It seems paradoxical: tongues are a sign for the unbelievers, but if an unbeliever sees believers speaking in tongues, they will say that the believers are out of their mind. Yet prophesy is for the believers, and if an unbeliever sees believers prophesying, they will be convicted of their sin and worship God. Perhaps it is like what happened at Pentecost – the Holy Spirit indwelt in the hearts of believers, and they were filled with the Spirit. When the Spirit of God filled them, they began to speak in tongues (Acts 2:4). The unbelievers did not understand what happened, but Peter, prompted by God, used the opportunity to share the gospel with the everyone.

Or maybe it’s because tongues are a sign of being baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2, Acts 19:5-6). I want to stress the importance of it being a sign, not the sign, as there are many accounts in Acts where the Holy Spirit came upon new believers and they did not receive the gift of tongues. Paul writes in the verses prior to the above passage that the gift of tongues is a great thing, but without translation it is mostly for personal edification, and should be minimized if it will not edify the church. Perhaps this is what Paul meant when he was talking about unbelievers seeing everyone speak in tongues and thinking that all believers are crazy.

On the other hand, prophesy seems to be better for strengthening the church. While tongues glorify God as much as prophesy does, the church as a whole is more edified through prophesy. Paul writes that speaks in tongues more than any of the Corinthian church, but he would rather “speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:18-19). Perhaps it is because of this edification and strengthening of the Church that Paul would say that unbelievers would be convicted of their sin and be judged by all and then worship God. A church that is unfied under Christ is a powerful witness to non-Christians. So then, while both tongues and prophesy come through those who are filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesy, which edifies the body of Christ, can convince unbelievers to worship God.

Now, to the tricky issue: Does this apply to us today? After all, church unity is great and everything, but if tongues and prophesy is not relevant to our lives today, what else should we be putting into practice in our lives? Well, for that you will have to wait for another day, since it’s another huge topic.

Until then!