The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Corinthians 10:33b,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved."
What is it about God that would cause a man to devote his life to others? What was this exciting "thing" that Paul had found that had caused him to turn from his previous hostility toward the church? Now that he had his encounter with Jesus Christ on the way to Damascus to persecute the church there, he sought to build up the church!
Paul has clearly seen something in Jesus Christ that had transformed his life.
It is not that he had found Christianity to be something good for his marriage (particularly since he didn't seem to be married at the time.) It is not that he had found that it would be best to involve his family in a church so that the kids might turn out OK. It is not that Paul had found that joining a church is an important component to a healthy lifestyle. I even doubt the transformation of Paul was due to him finding a coherent ethical lifestyle in Jesus Christ.
No, I think rather it is something Paul mentions a couple verses earlier: the glory of God! "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31.
I suspect that when Paul had his encounter with Jesus Christ on his trip to Damascus, he saw something in him that would change his life forever: the glory of God! Beholding the glory of God has to be life-transforming.
After Paul's experience and his subsequent interaction with the Lord, my thought is that the one thing in this life that held his attention was the glory of God revealed to him. It caused him to eagerly and enthusiastically pursue what the Lord had asked him to do. It also must have been an experience that drove him to share his enthusiasm and excitement for the Lord with as many as he could. Paul wanted all to share in the life transforming experience he had encountered – to see the glory of God.
I'm sure it wasn't in his mind that all believers would have his experience; after all, his was an apostolic calling. But I think it was Paul's desire that each of us would see something of the glory of God. Maybe that is why I sense, as I read his letters, that he would tell each of us today to seek the Lord with full abandon that we might see something of the glory of God ourselves.
What is it about God that would cause a man to devote his life to others? What was this exciting "thing" that Paul had found that had caused him to turn from his previous hostility toward the church? Now that he had his encounter with Jesus Christ on the way to Damascus to persecute the church there, he sought to build up the church!
Paul has clearly seen something in Jesus Christ that had transformed his life.
It is not that he had found Christianity to be something good for his marriage (particularly since he didn't seem to be married at the time.) It is not that he had found that it would be best to involve his family in a church so that the kids might turn out OK. It is not that Paul had found that joining a church is an important component to a healthy lifestyle. I even doubt the transformation of Paul was due to him finding a coherent ethical lifestyle in Jesus Christ.
No, I think rather it is something Paul mentions a couple verses earlier: the glory of God! "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31.
I suspect that when Paul had his encounter with Jesus Christ on his trip to Damascus, he saw something in him that would change his life forever: the glory of God! Beholding the glory of God has to be life-transforming.
After Paul's experience and his subsequent interaction with the Lord, my thought is that the one thing in this life that held his attention was the glory of God revealed to him. It caused him to eagerly and enthusiastically pursue what the Lord had asked him to do. It also must have been an experience that drove him to share his enthusiasm and excitement for the Lord with as many as he could. Paul wanted all to share in the life transforming experience he had encountered – to see the glory of God.
I'm sure it wasn't in his mind that all believers would have his experience; after all, his was an apostolic calling. But I think it was Paul's desire that each of us would see something of the glory of God. Maybe that is why I sense, as I read his letters, that he would tell each of us today to seek the Lord with full abandon that we might see something of the glory of God ourselves.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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