Search This Blog

Thursday, November 13, 2014

November 14 "Wrestle Well" I Corinthians 9

No arrows can undo us. 
Oh! How I love to read that Paul did all this for an unfading crown of glory.  An incorruptible crown. 

"Run like that, that you may win."  I Cor 9:24. 
"I run like that, not aimlessly.
I fight like that, not beating the air.
But I bring my body into submission,
lest I myself should be disqualified.  I Cor 9:26-27

Least of all.  No DQ's for me. 
I mean, could he really know if he was disqualified.
Yes we can! 
Paul had rights. 
A right to marry,
A right to be taken care of in recompense,
But he didn't claim anything for himself.
In order to win others over to Christ.
True self-denial.

And the gentle simile. 
The Corinthians knew all about the Isthmian Games.
The strict diets required.  The stringent exercises practiced.
In the same vein, we wrestle daily with the lusts of our flesh.

"Holy fear of himself was needed to keep an apostle faithful: how much more is it needful for our preservation! Let us learn from hence humility and caution, and to watch against dangers which surround us while in the body." Matthew Henry

COME BOLDLY:  Timeless Prayers
Dear Father, This so answers a question I've held on to for years.  Rights.  What rights do we have.  To be taken care of well by those over us?  To be loved?  May we make no claims for ourselves.  And no DQ's along the way.  Teach us to wrestle well.

PHOTO: Reflecting from a spot on the Quarries Lake. No arrows can undo us. 

No comments:

Post a Comment