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For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
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I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. (v. 22)
Do you know what a flail is? It’s a primitive, hand-held device for threshing wheat—a staff, at the end of which is a free-swinging stick. The stick is connected to the staff with a short length of chain or leather. As the staff is moved up and down, the stick flops herky-jerky, this way and that, pounding the wheat and separating the grain from the chaff.
Paul was like a flail. He strove to be “all things to all people,” hoping that thereby he “might save some.” Paul would go anywhere, do anything, accommodating himself in all sorts of ways, to all sorts of people—Jew or Gentile, under the law or outside the law—that he might win to Christ as many as he could.
There are risks, for a church, in trying to be all things to all people. You can find yourself spread a mile wide and an inch deep, all periphery and no center. Still, give me a church where believers flail—going here and there, doing this and that, each of us in our own way striving to do God’s work. Some volunteer at the food pantry. Some teach Bible stories to children. Some join the work crew that renovates housing so folks in need will have a decent place to live. Many believers in many ways doing one thing—trying to win people to Christ. How are you involved in that effort?
As you pray, ask God to show you how you might best serve His kingdom. Not next year or in the fall. But today, this summer, this fall and beyond!
Do you know what a flail is? It’s a primitive, hand-held device for threshing wheat—a staff, at the end of which is a free-swinging stick. The stick is connected to the staff with a short length of chain or leather. As the staff is moved up and down, the stick flops herky-jerky, this way and that, pounding the wheat and separating the grain from the chaff.
Paul was like a flail. He strove to be “all things to all people,” hoping that thereby he “might save some.” Paul would go anywhere, do anything, accommodating himself in all sorts of ways, to all sorts of people—Jew or Gentile, under the law or outside the law—that he might win to Christ as many as he could.
There are risks, for a church, in trying to be all things to all people. You can find yourself spread a mile wide and an inch deep, all periphery and no center. Still, give me a church where believers flail—going here and there, doing this and that, each of us in our own way striving to do God’s work. Some volunteer at the food pantry. Some teach Bible stories to children. Some join the work crew that renovates housing so folks in need will have a decent place to live. Many believers in many ways doing one thing—trying to win people to Christ. How are you involved in that effort?
As you pray, ask God to show you how you might best serve His kingdom. Not next year or in the fall. But today, this summer, this fall and beyond!
