These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11, NIV)
I play golf with a lot of people who know what they’re talking about. And so some of them do. They offer helpful advice and appropriate encouragement, and as a round progresses you know you’re gaining insight not only for today but for future rounds as well.
Once, though, I was playing with a professional and friend who didn’t say a word until I expressed some frustration late in the round. Then he spoke up. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” I asked after he finished helping me out. His response was simple: “You didn’t ask.”
Learning, we sometimes make the mistake of thinking, is all about the teacher. And while a great teacher can inspire a measurably great difference in the learning of any subject or skill, the onus still rests on the learner—something about leading a horse to water and all that.
So in our walk of faith, we may say that maturity comes because we go after it.
Paul spent several lines in his first letter to the Corinthians reviewing some of the severe consequences suffered by people in the Old Testament who willfully disregarded the instructions of God. Notice: these were healthy adults who saw the many works of God in the wilderness. The same things Moses witnessed were revealed to them. There was no way they could miss that God’s hand was in their midst. But they could choose not to heed him.
If we are to grow in Christ, we cannot simply say, “Oh yeah, I know the story of the cross and how Jesus died for me.” Don’t get me wrong—we must never lose track of that story! But if we halt our learning at that early stage of knowledge, we will not mature.
In the tenth verse of the tenth chapter, Paul made himself clear: Don’t just read these stories. See them as the examples they are. Be warned. God is serious, and so you should be too.
Some people might think this a hard tack. They want to play their faith free and easy, like they play their golf. But we all know that the best golfers in the world did not get that way by accident. They paid attention, learned well, and dedicated themselves in practice, just as the best in any endeavor do.
Make a fresh commitment to dedicating your own life to Christ, that you may continue to progress in the faith, demonstrating his Spirit at work in you.
—
Jeff Hopper
December 16, 2013
Copyright 2013 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.