I Corinthians 6:8
“On the contrary, you yourselves do wrong and defraud. And this to your brothers and sisters!”
Paul turned on the lights. This was a shock to them. Here they thought they were being loving by allowing the errant brother to abide with him without a word. In this passage he tells them they are breaking the law of Christ, the second of His commandments, “to love one another”.
This was a blind spot to them. They weren’t aware of this. We all have those. It’s upsetting. But honestly it’s a revelation all believers need to have. The first beatitude is “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, (Matthew 5:3). I spent 43 years as a christian not knowing what this verse meant. I had no clue. To be poor in spirit means we know that we are sinners. I would have agreed with that, but I didn’t know what extent that was. It’s still true. I am a sinner capable of bad things. He has been sanctifying me for all 48 of those years, but I’m still a sinner. Yes, He has made me clean by the blood of Christ, but my flesh is still with me.
Thank You, Lord, that You’ve done much cleaning up. I am so grateful. But I’m still capable of evil. Like the corinthians, I have blindspots. I may not be aware of them. I may have minimal awareness. Maybe a hint of knowledge. Like a shadow of a memory hits us. We pause and try to get it’s fulness. I know this is concerning. But that’s what the bible says. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
The Jeremiah verse is shocking. Many unbelievers would respond angrily to it. They claim, “I’m a good person” or they would say, “What about my grandmother? She was the sweetest person. Are you saying this about her as well?” The bible would say yes. This would make many furious.
Those that accept this are poor in spirit. Imagine a dirt poor neighborhood. See the shanty houses that are in great need of repair and paint. That’s us. As I said earlier, God has been working on a remodel for as long as I’ve been a believer. The more we grasp this the more dependent on God we will be. The more dependent we are the closer we will be to Him and the more He will work on us.
Lord, thank You that You love us and are committed to improving us. We are Your workmanship.