But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. (1 Corinthians 14:3, NIV)
This won’t be the first time you read about a scramble event among these devotions. Through the years, the metaphor of a scramble—where every player hits a shot, then all the balls are moved to the best one among them and played again from there—has served well to help us consider how the body of Christ allows for the contributions of everyone who is part of it.
But now I wonder. Have we been careful enough to ask what our contribution is?
In a way, the tradition of church potlucks is as likely to produce pictures of what happens in the body of Christ. Everyone brings something to contribute, but some dishes get eaten a lot faster than others. They are deeee-lish! But flavor sometimes (often?) masks the shameful nutritional value of a meal. I mean, just what is in Mabel’s famous casserole?
I ask this question with the scramble still in mind. I recently showed up on the first tee where a tournament of heating and air engineers was being assembled. There on the ground lay a bag full of persimmons. Now among aficionados of the game, I might look at those clubs and think, Ah, a classicist. Instead I feared for this guy’s ego. He was about to show up for a foursome of engineers with hopelessly outdated implements. Somehow our man had missed maybe 10 or 12 generations of golf equipment development. But we all know the somehow: he wasn’t really a golfer.
We are not to bring windy words or ramble on. What we are to do among one another is build each other up.In the context of a church that is only a community gathering place, we could expect to find some “persimmons” among us. These are people who love the friendliness of this crowd, and so they join in—with opinions and stories and ideas, all of which have little to do with the kingdom of God. Their words fill the hours and stir a few hearts, perhaps, but there’s no takeaway in the morning.
The body of Christ, under its head, who is Jesus himself, functions altogether differently. We are not to bring windy words or ramble on. What we are to do among one another is build each other up. We are to edify one another.
Sometimes we are aided in going to the Greek, in which the New Testament letters were written. The word for edify is oikodomē, and within its meaning we find the idea of promoting others’ growth in Christ. This means that we add to their wisdom or holiness. And yes, it may mean that we bring the laughter of real joy as well.
The best way to accomplish this is to speak by the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is what we mean when we describe prophecy, as Paul did to the Corinthians. Prophets do not speak only of the future but into the present. With the Lord’s eyes, they see what is going on around them and in front of them and they bring strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. We may not all speak this way regularly, but submitted to the Lord, we can be “among the prophets”—bringing a flavorful and nutritious spiritual meal to our brothers and sisters in our churches and fellowships.
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Jeff Hopper
September 30, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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