2 February 2016
It’s Unheard Of
1 Corinthians 2:9
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
Paul is quoting this scripture to reveal that God doesn’t plan or execute his leadership the way worldly leaders do. Human leadership likes to rule not serve, rewards only a select few, and places burdens helpless people. But God, the Ultimate Leader, doesn’t operate like this at all, so Paul is using this passage to describe how incredibly unheard of it is for God to operate his leadership like he does.
Jesus describes God’s “mysterious” leadership perfectly:
...Tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, (With God, the impossible happens!) and the Good News is being preached to the poor. (Good things are usually only reserved for those who can afford it, but God doesn’t need our resources!) And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’ (The faithful are blessed and no one can take that away!)
From Matthew 11:4-6
I love God’s brand of leadership. It’s nothing like ours. Our current candidates for president are more interested in what we can do for them than the other way around. But God can trump a Trump, and he can put a criminal where she belongs. Believers should make wise choices, but we should never put our hope and trust in a candidate to turn things around. Only God can do the impossible, and turning our country around certainly does seem impossible right now. But whether or not America halts its decline isn’t the most important thing. Remaining faithful to God and continuing to trust in him no matter who occupies the White House next year is the most important thing because God’s Kingdom lasts much longer than just 4 years – it lasts forever, and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen!
Dear God,
Thank you so much for not limiting yourself to the human leadership we understand and know. Your ways are generous and inclusive, strange and hopeful, exciting and unheard of. I’m so glad you made a way for me that no one, no power, and no president can take away. Thank you for eternal life through Jesus, your Son, and I thank you and praise you in his name, amen.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39)
It’s Unheard Of
1 Corinthians 2:9
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
Paul is quoting this scripture to reveal that God doesn’t plan or execute his leadership the way worldly leaders do. Human leadership likes to rule not serve, rewards only a select few, and places burdens helpless people. But God, the Ultimate Leader, doesn’t operate like this at all, so Paul is using this passage to describe how incredibly unheard of it is for God to operate his leadership like he does.
Jesus describes God’s “mysterious” leadership perfectly:
...Tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, (With God, the impossible happens!) and the Good News is being preached to the poor. (Good things are usually only reserved for those who can afford it, but God doesn’t need our resources!) And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’ (The faithful are blessed and no one can take that away!)
From Matthew 11:4-6
I love God’s brand of leadership. It’s nothing like ours. Our current candidates for president are more interested in what we can do for them than the other way around. But God can trump a Trump, and he can put a criminal where she belongs. Believers should make wise choices, but we should never put our hope and trust in a candidate to turn things around. Only God can do the impossible, and turning our country around certainly does seem impossible right now. But whether or not America halts its decline isn’t the most important thing. Remaining faithful to God and continuing to trust in him no matter who occupies the White House next year is the most important thing because God’s Kingdom lasts much longer than just 4 years – it lasts forever, and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen!
Dear God,
Thank you so much for not limiting yourself to the human leadership we understand and know. Your ways are generous and inclusive, strange and hopeful, exciting and unheard of. I’m so glad you made a way for me that no one, no power, and no president can take away. Thank you for eternal life through Jesus, your Son, and I thank you and praise you in his name, amen.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39)
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