No mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him!

1Cor. 2:1 NLT 

   1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. 

   6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard,  and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Humility-- this is a hard lesson for believers to truly internalize. It seams that pressure comes upon us, even in our Christian living, to 'stand out' or to be noticed.  It seems that if we are preachers we want to be known as 'great preachers.'  It seems that if we are teachers we seek to be recognized as 'great teachers.' It seems that if we are leaders, we want our name known far and wide. We have a hard time going through our Christian responsibilities and remaining unknown, unseen, unregarded except by God. Paul, by volume of his writing and missionary outreach was arguable 'the greatest apostle' yet he called himself "the least of the apostles."

He describes to the believers at Corinth--who were having a distinct problem grasping and applying the concept of humility-- he described to them how humble his approach was and then explains why he did not wax eloquent as he might have were he addressing an assemblage of statesmen. His mission was that The Holy Spirit, who knows each person's heart, would speak through him. Oh my, that is my prayer when I preach, pray, or chat with someone about Christ and Christian living. Lord, let my message and my preaching be very plain. Rather than using cleaver speech, may I rely only on You in me to speak to others about you (V 4 paraphrased).  And, Lord, when I am with mature believers, help me to speak wisdom that reflects the mystery of God's plan revealed through Christ. (Verse 6 paraphrased).

We speak thusly with each other because the world's rulers do not understand what we say unless they, too, are indwelt with God's Holy Spirit through their unconditional faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must try to share Christ's wisdom with today's rulers, however, because they make decisions that impact millions of people. And if they continue to make decisions informed by sin and arrogance, then they will do harm. Should they discover the peace of Christ then they will discover that they, too, are in store for themselves a joy that exceeds their largest imagining. We must minister to all who do not know Jesus, until they turn or we are taken home. That is your mission in live. How is the mission going?

Your servant in Christ's message
Dan
drdanelliott@gmail.com