Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 11:1-4
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if some one comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.
Thought for the Day: Have you been in Barnes and Noble lately? If so, have you walked through the religion section and read some of the titles? It is an interesting mix of voices attempting to grab your attention. Paul has preached a very specific understanding of Jesus to the people of Corinth, but they have heard other opinions and perspectives. Barnes and Noble is just one of the places where you see Paul’s dilemma – there are a multitude of voices, each suggesting their insight on Jesus is the truth. If you pause long enough to read the first chapter of ten of those books, you will find eleven opinions on who Jesus was and what his life means for us today. All most all of them use scripture as a starting place, and it is equally fascinating how many of them claim to have the “true” or “correct” interpretation – often using a bit of fear to get you to buy the book, suggesting that otherwise you may fall into the incorrect category. Paul is passionate about the people in Corinth. In fact, he feels a sense of jealousy when it comes to them, specifically feeling jealous when it comes to the other teachers who have attempted to woo them away. I have some pretty strong opinions on what books are worthy of reading at Barnes and Noble, but in the end, the one piece of advice I would suggest is this: stay away from any book that uses fear as one of its selling points. Usually that means it doesn’t have much substance, but more importantly, I think it goes against one of the central teachings of Christianity – that the love of Jesus casts out all fear.
Prayer: As I listen to the many voices who claim to know you, O Creator God, may I remember that no one outside of Jesus can really know you fully. May grace be my starting point and love be my journey. Amen.
