When the Dust Settles, Who will Remain?
By Shari Johnson on December 1, 2011
By Shari Johnson –
I Corinthians 11 vs. 3 “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.”
And so it was that Paul opened up that can of worms in society. It wasn’t a can of worms then, it was how it was. God didn’t change, we did. Somewhere down the road of our self serving society we decided regardless of male or female, child or adult, animal or vegetable we knew more than God. I use “we” as a general term describing the state of society, not individuals.
I know good godly men and women who have their homes in the order God desires. Are they perfect? Of course not! But they work. I know good godly people who are trying to get their homes in order, and they’re working at it. And then I know good people who just don’t talk about it. And that doesn’t work. Communication is key in every relationship in life. Just because you don’t discuss it, doesn’t make it not so. I know this from firsthand experience…
There’s an order in the home and in the church that God designed with purpose. Paul begins in Chapter eleven with praising the Corinthians for their concern for him and their desire to keep the ordinances. But this praise is followed by some stern discussion on the relationships of the home, and leads into a very stern conversation about the relationship of the church. To this regard, Paul says in verse 17, “I praise you not.”
Somebody had obviously messed up.
Vs. 18 “For first of all, when ye come together in the church I heard that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it“.
Paul didn’t know if everything he’d heard was the truth, but there was enough smoke in the neighborhood to be assured of a fire somewhere.
Verse 19 was the biggy that caught my attention as Dr. Myron Guiler preached this yesterday evening. It wasn’t even his topic, but it grabbed a hold of my heart and wouldn’t let go. So I knew it was what God wanted me hear during my late night travels to Marietta, Ohio.
“For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.”
God allowed dissention in the church? Even wilder than that thought, He not only allowed it, it had a purpose. God allowed a division of church members to show in the end who was approved by God. In the words of Dr. Guiler. These are they left standing when the dust settled.
Wow. Every church goes through times of trials and testing if they’re a church that God is using. And when God is structuring the leadership of the church, placing people in positions of authority, He wants them to know who their allies are within, and oftentimes the only way that can be discovered is to see what everyone is made of when they’re confronted with issues that require choosing sides. God’s side, or the world.
When the dust settles, I want to be found standing on the side of the Lord!
Shari Johnson is “The Jesus Chick” writer/speaker and Born again child of God, saved by grace and serving Christ. Dedicated to His Service through all she does. Wife to David, Momma to Tiffani and Whitney, Nona to Luke, Noah, Nicolis and Paityn. Find her here, friend her on Facebook or read her thoughts at http://www.thejesuschick.com/.
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