Have you ever been to a sporting event and had a view from the “cheap seats” (aka the “nose bleeds”). These particular seats offer up some disadvantages as well as some advantages depending on your perspective. The view from the top tier of seats gives you the “big picture” experience. You can see the game being played, you can “feel” the energy of the crowd as they cheer on their team or yell at the referee; yet at the same time you miss the impact of the hard hitting body checks or skillfully placed shot on goal.
As I read through the book of 1 Corinthians I carefully combed through each chapter looking for and listening to what God was leading me to learn. As I worked through the many details of Paul’s letter to the church I had to take a step back to get a scope of the bigger picture, I had to take a seat in the “nose bleed” section to get a different view. Paul’s primary audience was the Christians at that time (the church), he had heard about their problems of inappropriate behaviour and different quarrels that had divided them between leaders and beliefs. Near the beginning of his letter Paul asks them to “recognize” their calling (1:26), a call from God to be saved through accepting the work of His Son Jesus Christ, a call to be in relationship with Him. Paul reminds the people how to live a life pleasing to the Lord, how to live in unity in their marriages, how to treat their neighbours, how to worship properly and how best to use their spiritual gifts for the benefit of all believers. The book of 1 Corinthians holds one of my favourite passages in scripture, it is often called the “love passage”. This short descriptive passage describes the love our Heavenly Father has for us, the kind of love that we should have for one another.
If I had to pick a “moment in the game” as I read through 1 Corinthians to run on the highlight reel or replay on the Jumbo-Tron it would come near the end of the letter in chapter 15. Paul gives the Corinthian church and us the most important reminder of all, the foundation of what our faith is built on, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (15:3-4) This incredible act of love on our Heavenly Fathers behalf is the “ultimate play”, a moment in time that has been witnessed and recorded in His “play book” so we can be encouraged and learn from it.
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