Thought for the week: The importance of abiding by the Word of God

It is in Second Corinthians 3,1. “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God”.

In these elegant words, St Paul describes the very visible quality of Christian living that the Holy Spirit had brought to the once rather dysfunctional congregation in the city of Corinth. People there had been something of a liability to the gospel and witness to the Lord, but had been transformed into a very public and God honouring group of believers.

His words are entirely consistent with other equally memorable teaching from Paul and Jesus Himself. Christ turned the values of society up-side down when he said that his followers, no matter how seemingly unimportant, were blessed when they mourned, or were meek or merciful. Paul looked for the Spirit’s work to be seen in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

It is striking that all of these great qualities often show themselves in public. They are not simply private or only personal. In a word, Christian people are called to be what renowned English Anglican cleric Dr John Stott described as “counter-cultural”.

We are not to have a veneer of godliness over an indulgent lifestyle. We are not to copy the often-corrupting values of the worlds of the celebrity culture or politics. We are not to prize academic achievement or sporting success above honouring the Lord, even though these are a delight when and if they come.

A letter - or an email or text message - is easily read. To have my own life ‘read’ in public (as in the church in Corinth) is rather scary, yet it is so important that it takes place. And the same applies to the life of any congregations of which I, and you, may be members.

We are all well aware that the pandemic has brought new, unexpected, and in some cases quite traumatic challenges to many congregations and committed Christians. The cost-of-living crisis is adding to the pressures. There are fewer volunteers to run many church activities and there is less finance available. pastoral needs are increasing across every generation, whilst at the same time pastors and church leaders are needing to spend ever more time and effort ensuring that our work complies with a great deal of new legislation.

Yet, all of these challenges open up new opportunities to write the letter from Christ in our lives and in our congregations on many new pages. Previous generations saw it happening in their time. It is not an exaggeration to say that the same Spirit of the living God is still open to doing the same work in our time and in this generation.

It is likely to be quite costly. Yet I really do want Him to write those new pages. Do you?