1 Corinthians 1:26-31 "God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "let the one who boasts boast in the Lord."
The Christ Followers in the Corinthian Church had begun boasting about how smart they were to be following Jesus. They were prideful and it was looming over the body of believers like a plague causing them to fight among themselves and lose sight of their common purpose. Paul was burdened by this sad state of affairs and he knew that they needed to be reminded of all that God had done for them. Not one of them had anything to offer God when He had called them to faith. Paul was trying to bring to their attention that if they were going to boast, they needed to boast in Christ alone. God had chosen them when they had nothing to boast about. He loved them first in their sinful, putrid condition.
While it is true in every area of life, it is especially true when it comes to our salvation. We have nothing to boast about. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We had nothing to offer Him, yet He left His home in glory to die on that old rugged cross because He loves us. He laid Himself upon that cross and went through the pain and suffering that we deserved so that He could redeem us back to Himself. Paul explained that God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things to shame the wise and He chose the weak things to shame the strong so that no one could boast before God. The truth is this, God created us, because of Adam's sin we were born sinners, God initiated a relationship back with Himself by wooing us, He made us aware of our condition, and He gave His life to forgive all our sins so that we could spend eternity with Him. He did all the work and we undeservingly gained His righteousness. We can not take the credit for anything at all.
I'm reminded of that old song "The Wonder Of It All". There's the wonder of sunset at evening, The wonder as sunrise I see; But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is the wonder that God loves me. The wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me. He loves me enough to die for me!! I'm so undeserving!
My dear friends, if you are going to boast about something, boast about the fact that You know Jesus and don't forget to mention all that He has done for you! Boast to the utmost for His highest glory! We serve an awesome God!
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Dear Lord,
You alone are the only thing that truly matters in this life. Please get our attention when we seek to glorify ourselves and help us to refocus. There are times that we get caught up in all the hype of celebration and accolades and we forget that apart from You we are unable to accomplish anything worth any value. Help us to boast in You and You alone! All our hope is in You and we glorify Your name above all others!
In Jesus Name,
Amen
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