Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you. (1 Cor. 15:1)
My brain is decent for thinking, but terrible for storage. I write notes in almost every meeting, and keep a planner with me at all times, largely because (for me) even the most important things require a reminder. Without a reminder of what’s important, I’ll spend my day doing what’s urgent. That’s not just true for my day; it’s true for my life. I need to have a sense (week by week) of where my life is headed. I need to have a concern, a theme, a mission, that shapes my orientation each day.
At the end of our lives, it’s not the values we talked about that matter to other people; it’s the values we lived. Did we connect with the people God called us to love? Did we look after other people’s interests, and seek the good of our city? Were our lives built on the foundation of the gospel?
Paul’s words throughout this 1 Corinthians passage are aimed at a congregation who has heard the gospel preached; but Paul knows that even the most faithful people need a reminder to keep the gospel as an orienting concern. You and I need that reminder, too: to keep Christ’s way of life before us day by day, seeking always to spend our days working, praying, and relating to others after God’s heart.
Keep the gospel always in front of you.
Ethan Linder is the pastor of collegians and young adults at College Wesleyan Church (IN) and contributing editor for Education & Clergy Development of The Wesleyan Church.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
