SEPTEMBER 29
NOT MANY FATHERS
1 Corinthians 4:15-17
For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News. I beg you therefore, be imitators of me. Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly. (WEB)
In today's Bible reading, Paul tells us that while we may have many teachers in our lives, we will not have many spiritual fathers. In today's passage, Paul says that he himself became a spiritual father to the Corinthian church through the preaching of the good news to them.
So, what do you think Paul meant when he said he became a father to the entire Corinthian church? Do you believe that he built a close one-on-one relationship with each person in the congregation similar to a parent-child bond? I think... not.
I believe he loved them in the same way that God loved him. Since the source of all love is our Heavenly Father, Paul would have loved them with the Father's love. After all, that is how it worked for Jesus when He said in John 15:9... Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. (WEB)
Since God's love is not limited to a masculine expression alone, Paul was able to show tender, motherly affection toward the churches he ministered to. One example is in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, where Paul writes... 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 Even so, longing for you warmly, we were glad to share not only the Good News of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. (WEB)
I think the main point of today's Bible reading is simple. Many people can teach, but fewer truly reflect the Father in their relationships. Paul knew the Godhead loved him so much that he was able to pass on that love to everyone he encountered. My prayer today is that each of us would receive so much of God's love that it would naturally flow out to everyone we meet.
1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us. (WEB)
For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News. I beg you therefore, be imitators of me. Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly. (WEB)
In today's Bible reading, Paul tells us that while we may have many teachers in our lives, we will not have many spiritual fathers. In today's passage, Paul says that he himself became a spiritual father to the Corinthian church through the preaching of the good news to them.
So, what do you think Paul meant when he said he became a father to the entire Corinthian church? Do you believe that he built a close one-on-one relationship with each person in the congregation similar to a parent-child bond? I think... not.
I believe he loved them in the same way that God loved him. Since the source of all love is our Heavenly Father, Paul would have loved them with the Father's love. After all, that is how it worked for Jesus when He said in John 15:9... Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. (WEB)
Since God's love is not limited to a masculine expression alone, Paul was able to show tender, motherly affection toward the churches he ministered to. One example is in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, where Paul writes... 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 Even so, longing for you warmly, we were glad to share not only the Good News of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. (WEB)
I think the main point of today's Bible reading is simple. Many people can teach, but fewer truly reflect the Father in their relationships. Paul knew the Godhead loved him so much that he was able to pass on that love to everyone he encountered. My prayer today is that each of us would receive so much of God's love that it would naturally flow out to everyone we meet.
1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us. (WEB)