The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
January 21, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 03

Everything But...
           Isn’t it funny, and possibly a bit strange, that so many of us – myself included – are always trying to do “better”, that we never feel that we are doing or being good enough? We humbly accept praise given to us about the way we do our job, the meals that we cook, and the way we are raising our children. Most often though, we feel embarrassed and inwardly still do not really believe what is being said to us. Certainly, we all do have things that we need to work on.
           I don’t know how much the people in Corinth thought about their behaviors, the kind of lifestyle they were living or how they were treating their neighbors, spouses or children. But it seems that Paul had a great deal of information about them. The picture he was seeing was not a pretty one. There were problems, problems and more problems. Paul had been expressing his concerns to the congregation at First Church Corinth in his letters, but it looks like things were not being resolved any too quickly. But Paul continued to write his letters to the church, offering encouragement.
           Along with trying to support the congregation in this chaotic time, Paul was also telling them how “good” they were! His message to them was that they were the body of Christ. Christ was gone from the earth, and they were his replacements, human frailties and all. A scary thought, perhaps, but nonetheless one that Paul wanted the congregation to be aware of and to accept. In the meantime, they were just fine the way they were, better than just fine, actually. They, as Christ’s representatives in the world, were more than worthy to take Christ’s teachings and his love beyond the walls of the church to others in the world. A big responsibility? God knows that we are up to it.
           - Heather Rogers