April 16

“I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed you are still not ready. You are still worldly.” —1 CORINTHIANS 3:2-3

John describes the essential nature of being worldly when he wrote, “Do not love the world nor anything in the world… For everything that is in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:15-16). The more poetic language of other translations, ‘the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life’ describes the disposition that is in conflict with Jesus Christ. 

Being worldly is an attitude to be resisted at all costs. It seeks fulfillment of our own desires, satisfaction in our own agendas and the feeding of our egos. This has very little to do with the environment in which we live and work, but has everything to do with the attitudes that govern us within them. It is a mistake to see our main battle grounds as external, because they are internally sourced. 

We may so engineer our circumstances to live in isolation from the world at large, yet be completely worldly. The motivation for detachment from the world may even be the ‘pride of life’. Worldliness is to be resisted, but the world itself is our workshop. It is in our places of work, at home, in our schools, communities, churches and social circles where our attitudes, relationships and behaviours become an exhibition of either the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives or the absence of Him. 

For some people, isolation from the world has been what they believe to be a feature of the Christian life. They could not be more wrong. In every age bracket and sect of life, Christians have withdrawn from the world rather than be characterized by a true sense of mission. It’s safer to be defensive rather than venturing into new territory with God, and far less demanding to be re-active than pro-active. Paul tells the church in Corinth, “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.” They were believers who were still living their own way, bickering and quarreling amongst each other, and causing dissension within the church. 

Like the church in Corinth, we need the centrality of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives. The Christian life is lived in union with Him, and He came into this world not only as Saviour but as Lord. When we have shown that we have made Him Lord and dispensed with worldly concerns, we are likely ready for solid food, because it’s then our lives have become characterized by an everyday sense of mission for Christ.

PRAYER: Lord, give me self-control and the discipline to stay away from anything that lures me away from You. Grant me “a sense of mission” every day of my life. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: Have I tasted solid food in my union with Christ?