Katie Bodager
There’s a verse in 1 Corinthians that has been ringing in my spirit for many months, and it’s this one:
“For although you could have countless babysitters in Christ telling you what you’re doing wrong, you don’t have many fathers who correct you in love. But I’m a true father to you, for I became your father when I gave you the gospel and brought you into union with Jesus, the Anointed One. So, I encourage you, my children, to follow the example that I live before you.” (1 Cor. 4:15-16, TPT*)
Paul was discussing the nature of true apostleship in this text. Just like today, the people of the early church were surrounded with lots of voices. They needed some help identifying whom they should follow in the midst of so much noise.
However, I think there’s a broader lesson here as well. It applies to parenting, to leadership and to life. God is profoundly relational. Jesus did not come to build an institution; He came to gather a family. He wants love to be our truest motivation.
I’m the momma of four beautiful children, and I’m passionate about parenting. But the reality is that the Body of Christ is composed of people from various backgrounds at various stages of life. While we are not all called to parent children in our own homes, we are all called to be a vital part of the family of God.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul professed his own love for the Church in this way: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us”.
As we love our children, and as we love one another, may God grace us with such tender, selfless love for one another. When our patience runs thin and we are tempted to lead from a place of self-protection or self-promotion, let us heed the voice of the Holy Spirit. He is calling us to a deeper way of parenting, of living and of loving one another.
*(I realize that the Passion Translation isn’t the most scholarly translation, but I invite you to drink in this truth and freely explore the other translations as well.)
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