This morning we’re taking some time to celebrate our “service in the world.” We’ll bring the year ahead before God and pray for one another’s various roles in life: in our work (paid and unpaid), in our families (as parents, grandparents, children, husbands, wives), as retirees, students, or wherever God has called us.
At first glance, Paul’s words to the Corinthians in today’s passage might not seem relevant to our daily lives and vocations. But listen closely and we might hear God asking us to examine our motivations for what we do. Are we trying to make ourselves look good through our own wisdom, knowledge, eloquence, or strength? Paul tells us that this is not the way things work in God’s kingdom. God’s wisdom seems foolish and God’s strength seems weak when measured by human standards, but God works through the cross to bring us to humility “so that no one might boast in the presence of God” (v 29).
Our salvation comes through God alone and this means we’re all on a level playing field, regardless of the gifts we have or our role in society. Nothing we can do or achieve is worthy of boasting in, when compared to the foolishness of God.
How does this affect the way we see our service in the world?
