August 15
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PAUL GIVES UP RIGHTS FOR THE GOSPEL
A poem by ILMA
Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle?
Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes?
Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord?
Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you.
You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle
This is my answer to those who question my authority
Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?
Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves?
What soldier has to pay his own expenses?
What farmer plants and doesn’t have the right to eat from his fruits?
What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and not allowed to drink their milk?
Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same?
“You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.”
Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? Wasn’t he speaking to us?
Yes, it was written for us, so that the both who worked gets a share of the harvest
Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to its fruits?
But we have never used this right; We won’t let any obstacle to bring the gospel.
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MEMORY VERSE
But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. – 1 Corinthians 9:12
Read: 1 Corinthians 9:1-12
The world dictates that we fight for our rights. In this account of Paul to the Corinthians, he turns around this worldly system of fighting for one’s rights. He tells us that even thought he deserves to have the right to take part of the harvest from his work, he wouldn’t let this become an obstacle to bringing the Good News.
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REFLECTION
• What rights have you given up so that the Gospel will be preached?