On Nobody’s Bandwagon
I Corinthians 1
1 Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
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As a believer in Christ, have you ever felt like you’re a commodity being relentlessly pursued in order to be acquired, used, exploited? It seems like there are endless tugs and pulls for our allegiance.
We’re inundated with study Bibles, Bible teachers, Bible commentaries, Christian groups/teachers, Messianic groups/teachers … that all have their particular slant that is the best, the latest, most authentic, most accurate. All are just slightly nuanced enough to occupy space with the latest appeal to draw us their way. And because we desire group identification and camaraderie we all, at one time or another, fall victim to these diversions and distractions.
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But this isn’t anything new or uniquely particular to our time and culture. This has been the plight of God’s people and the ploy of Satan going back to the Garden. A house divided against itself (Mark 3:25) cannot and will not stand. It won’t last. It will get fractured and slowly collapse in on itself.
Consider this, for example:
We all have our favorite Bible translation, our favorite study Bible, our favorite Bible teacher, preacher, commentator, ministry, organization. This list goes on. And when any church or fellowship assembles it already functions from a fragmented framework. To quote Paul: “I am of …” (fill in the blank)
And really …
It’s to no fault of anyone. We’re all caught up in, and being swept along with, all things new and modern. And not just in the world around us, but in the Christian world around us as well. It is, in essence, a natural outgrowth of how things progress and develop.
But …
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I, for one, am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. It’s hard to keep up with it all. It’s almost impossible to sort it all out.
And …
It’s exhausting, draining, frustrating. It taxes one’s body, soul and spirit to the point of abject disillusionment.
So for me …
I’m taking a step back from it all.
I’m going minimalistic in the biblical/spiritual realm of things.
I’m decluttering my spiritual house, my spiritual space, my spiritual environment.
I’m getting rid of the extraneous.
And, I’m endeavoring to focus on a single specific objective.
Which is …
The pursuit of the Bible itself.
Meaning … I am in the process of rebuilding, for myself, the biblical ground upon which I will stand or fall.
And …
When it gets right down to it, when things get tough (and they’re going to) if we can’t stand upon that which we have established biblically within ourselves and for ourselves and by ourselves, we will not endure. It will be our faith, our walk, our knowledge, our relationship with God and His Word that will enable us to withstand the onslaught of Satan’s fiery darts.
So I find myself asking …
What does this mean for me? What will it look like? How will I flush it out? Can I manage this? Am I thinking more highly of myself than I aught?
I don’t know.
But I do desire this …
That the Bible becomes my primary source for wisdom and knowledge. I want God’s Word to be that which shapes my focus and determines my directives.
But then I find myself asking …
Am I throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water?
To which I think I can honestly answer:
No. However, I am going to be a little more particular into what tub of water I put my baby.
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Closing thought.
It’s been interesting for me to note that the older I get and the farther along I get in my faith, I keep hearing in my head the theme song of my favorite childhood after school TV show Ranger Andy:
As he used to sing, and as it still rings true to this day:
You’ll find it in the Bible,
You’ll find it in the Bible,
You’ll find it in the Bible
So YOU’LL know it’s true.
I think that’s what I mean when I say I’m …
On Nobody’s Bandwagon.