Thursday, February 10, 2011

Scum of the earth

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God...For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things."
-1 Corinthians 4:1; 9-13 (ESV)

I feel that society has a pretty basic stereotype of what the Church looks like; I'm not saying I like this stereotype, I'm just expressing that there is one: People that wear nicer clothes to the gatherings than the typical weekend-wear, that are able to tithe large sums of money each week, people that are modestly exclusive; a body that has growth, but there is no outreach.

As believers in Christ, we are called to reach the unreached, to love the unloved, to humble ourselves because we are no better than anyone else. We are already outcasts by society's standards, so let us also reach the other types of outcasts: the dropouts, losers, failures, fools, and the lost. (Remember, we were once lost too.) There are already an abundance of people out there that judge; let us be humble ad love people as they come. We are aware of our ever-present need for a Savior for we are the scum of the earth; our job is to shine that Light in other people's darkness, to be love and present an option of New Life.

Inward growth is important - we needn't forget our own relationships with Jesus - but we also need to reflect Him to those that need Him; to be selfless in putting everyone else's needs before our own; to make them feel like they belong for once. It's more than just doing a local outreach: it's building relationships, helping them grow, encouraging them.

There are broken, hurting people out there. What are we doing to express a greater Love to them?

peace, love, and humility.
kaeli

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