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What have we chosen?
From 1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12 What I mean is that each of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. 18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
My childhood perspective of the church being one big happy family was shattered as I started my internship for ordained ministry. Having chosen the church in which I wanted to see the practical side of ministry I started hearing, "Oh, he's from this party," and "She's from the other party." And it wasn't festive get-togethers they were referring to; it was about factions in the church. To this day I do not understand that sort of thinking and practice. I don't think Paul ever understood it. And earlier in the Gospels Jesus used it to speak against accusations that He was serving Satan (Mark 3:25). Of all things, Paul encountered in the Corinth church factions among those who claimed their baptism was better and thus made them followers of the one who baptized them. Paul asked, "Has Christ been divided? Was it me that was crucified for you? Were you baptized in my name?" These people were missing the point as are those who say, "Nobody can baptize me except my most favorite pastor of all time; I'm going to invite him back to do my baptism." Paul stresses they were missing the point and the power of the cross. His message had been to reconcile people with God and away from their sin, not to see groups divided against groups through disagreements over who baptized them. Paul's message, as should ours, was grounded in the cross and all that it symbolizes for us today; that God's love was proved through the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, so that "everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Paul did understand the power found in unity. He knew the church faced enough from the outside to be so concerned about minuscule things inside. The enemy of the church seeks to divide the house so that the house cannot stand, even today, and if ever the church needed to stand together it is today against sin and against evil. Paul did not want the church in Corinth or anywhere to lose its way. Paul came to preach Christ and His message, not his own. And the message of Christ is to follow in "the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6).
Jesus calls us to seek to be in agreement, and as Paul said, "united in the same mind and the same purpose," for our very existence is about sharing the power of the cross, not about which party to which we belong. We need to work for the common goal of serving God and helping our neighbors find the relationship with God they need for the good of their souls.
PRAYER: Loving God, forgive us for those times that we have placed labels on others or on ourselves. We seek to be only about You and what You have done for our sake. Help us to have "the same mind and the same purpose" as Paul shared in this passage. Help us to recover the power of the cross in our lives, our families, and in our churches. This we ask in the Name of He who died on the cross for us, Jesus our Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
