Not ready

“You’re not ready yet.”

Those are pretty piercing words, don’t you think?

That’s what Paul told the Corinthian church.

“There’s so much I want to teach you. There’s so much more I want to build on that foundation I laid…but you’re not ready yet.”

In the Corinthians’ case, it was a case of severe immaturity in character. They were “enriched in every way, in all speech and knowledge,” blessed with every spiritual gift. (1 Corinthians 1:5-6).

And yet there was division, jealousy, and pride infecting the church. Despite all they had, they were not ready.

I wonder how many Christians that way.

Sometimes Christians think to themselves, “I’m ready for more, Lord. Look at all these gifts I have. Look at all I know. Look at all I can do. Use me.”

And when God doesn’t, they get frustrated.

“Why don’t people appreciate what I can do? I could do a much better job than so-and-so. God, why don’t people notice me? And why do you use so-and-so instead of me?”

May I suggest a big part of it may be your character? What words of division, jealousy, and pride infect those words above?

The biggest problem is that they’re all self-centered. And if there’s one thing you see in this chapter is that it’s not about you. It’s about God. It’s about Christ.

It is the Lord who gives roles to each person as he sees fit (5).

It is God who gives the growth to all that we sow and water. (6)

We are God’s laborers, his field, and his building (9).

Christ is the foundation of that building. (11)

The church is God’s temple. (16)

We belong to Christ. (23)

As long as your life is self-focused instead of God-focused, your perspective is all wrong, and your character will be warped by that perspective.

And as long as that remains the case, you won’t be ready for what God wants to do in and through you.

The sad thing is when this kind of problem infects the church.

When division, bitterness, jealousy, and selfishness infect the church, God can’t do much with it. The church isn’t ready yet.

And I’m not talking simply about the local church, but the church at large.

What would God say to the church in America? What would God say to the church in Japan? What would he say to the church where you live?

Would he say, “You’re not ready?”