Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello there, dear ones.

I need to keep moving. We have lots on the table for the day. We’ve done our walk/jog…taking time to talk to a couple who live up the hill who saw us while they were driving down the hill and stopped to greet us…and Jill came tumbling after…just kidding.

Yesterday evening I had a provocative conversation with a friend who is a sheriff. I asked him if, in the course of doing his police work, he had any sense of things turning worse in our society. Without hesitation he launched into his view of anticipated woe…that he is aggressively preparing for very bad times. I won’t try to relate all we talked about, but it serves as just one more piece of confirmation that there is a general anxious foreboding in our world that things are heating up to a big crisis of hard times. While I think it’s appropriate to do what we reasonably can to prepare for survival, I think it’s most important to prepare for dying. What do you think?

May your day be a good one.

Love, Dad/Ray.

My guess is that you will come up with a lot of questions and uncertainties of your own as you read this 14th chapter of 1 Corinthians. Rather than spending a lot of effort here trying to get it all figured out and placed in nice tidy little boxes, let’s just pick up and run with the first verse as it presents such clear and concise standard for guidance as we navigate through the terrain of “churchianity” (the broad-spectrum, visible, and observable representation of the Perfect Body of Christ via the medium of imperfect people—I just made up this definition—I think it fits).

“Follow the way of love.” Love has already been established as a priority motivation in relation to both God and man. God’s love received is designed by the Giver to enlighten and empower us to become channels of that love to others.

“Eagerly desire spiritual gifts.” Understand that the purpose of your existence is to serve the Giver of “spiritual gifts.” And serving the Giver involves serving the needs of others—those who are in as much need of the spiritual love gift of God as you are.

“Especially the gift of prophecy.” My understanding is that “prophecy,” in the sense intended here, is simply the clear, intelligent, Spirit-inspired, and practical communication of the things of God to other needy people. I believe I can pretty much guarantee that if you are capable of intelligence and will read your Bible with A HEART AFTER GOD, you cannot avoid engaging in the Spirit-inspired “gift of prophecy.” Think about it. But don’t stop there.