Father, we are on the cusp of one of the busiest times of the year on many levels. Please help me to think clearly. Please help me to be sensitive to the many things clamoring for my attention and to give the utmost attention to what is truly important. Amen.
1 Corinthians 11:2-16 (<<click here to read the passage)
Life is full of prickly situations and topics. There are many things that you wouldn’t dare bring up in certain circles. Sometimes, they may be family-oriented – “Don’t ever bring up such-and-such with Aunt Mable!” They may have to do with things in a work environment – “Don’t ever do such-and-such! It’s not a corporate rule, but it will set off the store manager for sure!”…and then there are some church / Biblical things. And, of course, politics seems to be more prickly than ever!
Today’s passage deals with some very prickly things – rules in marital relationships and the role of women in the church. Some churches still follow them to a “t,” but many no longer do so, chalking them up as a “cultural” thing in the New Testament church.
We need to be careful that we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, some things may be “cultural” things, but at their core, there is still a truth that, regardless of their, and our, cultural mindset, must remain…and be adhered to.
My Life Application Study Bible had this to say,
While Paul’s specific instructions may be cultural (women covering their heads in worship), the principles behind them are timeless: respect for spouse, reverence and appropriateness in worship, and focus of all of life on God.
Our goal as followers of Christ is not division but unity. Jesus prayed for us, as believers, as recorded in John 17:20-23,
“I do not pray for these alone [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for [all] those who [will ever] believe and trust in Me through their message, that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me.
I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me.
In the scope of eternity, there are many things that are far too important to forfeit because we are fixated on petty things of no consequence.
Lord Jesus, enable us to see the world and our place in it through Your eyes. May our eyes not be clouded by traditional mindsets that we hold above Your truth. Amen.
Nov 26th, 2023, Sun, 2:57 pm
