Tues., 2/16/16 Devotion (1 Cor. 3:21b, 22b, 23)

Today's encouragement comes from 1 Corinthians 3:21b, 22b, & 23, where we read these words:

"For all things are yours . . . —all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s."

The Corinthian parishioners to whom the apostle wrote this epistle thought themselves to be pretty hot stuff. But they were essentially missing the whole point of their Christian lives: what made them special was not their ability to outdo one another with tongues, knowledge, or miracles. Instead, what really set them apart is the very same thing that makes every faithful churchmen today so remarkable: they were in Christ, who Himself possesses everything of value.

If we have Jesus, we have everything: "All things are [ours].” Disconnected from Jesus, we have nothing. With this biblical perspective, true Christians may live in perfect peace and full contentment, knowing that we already—even in this world—possess everything in Christ alone.

[Puritan quote of the day: "You are bone of [Christ's] bone, and flesh of His flesh; and to have a member of Jesus Christ in a condition of discontent is ex-ceedingly unworthy.” —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment"]