Week 3 January 2026, Devotion Part 1

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus…I urge you, then, be imitators of me.       1 Corinthians 4:15-16

Depending on our denominational tradition, we do call our top man father, as well as the man of the cloth or man of the collar. In non-denominational circles he may be the fellow with a fondness for flip-flops and cool shirts. Many guys wear them, so it could be difficult to discern at first glance who lives for surfing versus serving as an ordained head of staff. Paul’s guidelines apply to every member of Christ’s body, as those ancient believers would wryly point out. He collared the toga-clad Corinthians to keep both the professional clergy and professing Christians out of each other’s doghouse.

Competitive fan clubs had sprung up around their favorite “senior pastors.” Paul, Apollos and Cephas were put on pedestals. Our senior apostle knew first hand the treachery of such reckless exposure. One minute you appealed to people, the next you appalled them. No wonder his words were a bit heated when he wrote, “When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”  Part 1 of 2

Comment: Decades ago I was taken to task for applying the Moses story to us modern believers, instead of viewing him as a strictly historical figure of antiquity.  Inwardly I felt hysterical when the critic came for a home visit to recruit me for helping him sell Shaklee products.  Would he now buy the fact that the most eminent of all apostles wants me to become his imitator?  The catch is that being thought of as “the scum of the world” comes with Paul’s territory.  At the time of this writing, I nearly choked on my egg one morning when I read in the paper, “Pastor’s fringe teachings go mainstream in capital.”  Being more at ease with Paul’s scummy world, my kind of “refuse” was linked to the narrow notion to “make America more religious again.”  A “fringe benefit” of being a quirky writer who buys all her books, my study boasts of a large private library.  My most prized possession is a 13-volume set titled “20 Centuries of Great Preaching.”  Even so, one sermon came to mind instantly without opening a single page.  “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written by the American theologian Jonathan Edwards in 1741 and was based on Deuteronomy 32:35, “Their foot shall slide in due time.”  The preaching of this scary sermon was the catalyst for what is known as the First Great Awakening.  “He had the manuscript held up so close to his face that they could not see it.  He went on and on until the people in the crowded church were moved almost beyond control.  One man sprang up, rushed down the aisle and cried, “Mr. Edwards, have mercy!”  Our pastor is much easier on us, but has Princeton Seminary in common with him.  Edwards was the third president of what was then the College of New Jersey, but died after 35 days of smallpox in 1758, having risked an inoculation to promote it.