A common purpose: being a link ~ 1 Corinthians 3.5-9

A COMMON PURPOSE: being a link
Paul diagnosed the immaturity of the Corinthian believers by showing their divisiveness was due to their spiritual immaturity. In this passage he puts the leaders in their rightful place —the servants’ quarters. Only One was due the place of supremacy. Take a look:
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.” 1 Cor. 3.5-9

Apollos was a link in the chain that preached Christ to the unbelievers;

As was Paul . . . a link. The word ‘link’ is both a noun and a verb.
link (n) – 1) a relationship between two things or situations, esp. where

one thing affects the other, 2) a ring or loop in a chain

link (v) - make, form, or suggest a connection with or between
I hope you’ll follow my line of thinking on ‘being a link’…

Actually, Paul was a link between unbelief and knowledge of Jesus Christ. He linked people together with the God who loved them. It was his purpose, and he passionately lived it out. Telling others the good news wasn’t some rote activity for Paul, or just a diversion from tent-making—no, Paul lived his life as he did because he understood the heart of the Father. What mattered to God, mattered to Paul, and lost people mattered to God.

Lost? The master storyteller, Jesus, told three stories that illustrate how much lost people matter to God. The shepherd leaves the 99 to look for one lost sheep; the homemaker who has just 10 coins loses one—she cleans like crazy, finds the coin, and throws a party; the youngest son demands his inheritance—father gives it, he squanders it, finds himself so down and out he is eating with the pigs…returns home, repents, father welcomes him, throws a party! In all three stories in Luke 7, something of value was lost; that something mattered a lot to somebody. That which was lost warranted an all-out search—that’s how it is with God, Friends. And Paul got that.

So often, a person’s coming to Christ is team-oriented. ‘. . . like a chain with many links. There is the first link, middle links, and a last link. There are many influences and conversations that precede a person’s decision to put their faith in Jesus Christ. You may not even know you were the first link, though you might be quite aware of being a middle link, and occasionally, you might be the last link. God has not called me to only be the last link; he has called me to be faithful, and to love all people.’ Cliff Knechtle, Give Me an Answer

God’s purposes for you include sowing seeds of faith to others, and sometimes coming alongside them to nurture and grow them, though we always bear in mind that it is God who draws and saves the lost one. Take a chance and share from your heart . . . from your experience of how your life has changed . . . of how God answered your prayers . . . of how he gave you peace in your greatest trial, and brought you through . . . or of how exciting it is to live close to the heart of God.

Though you have a God-given individual purpose uniquely suited to you, we all have one common purpose, and that is to ‘be a link’.

Grace,
Christine

podcast: www.pastorwoman.com


p.s. I have attached a metal link onto my purse strap to remind me to ‘be a link’ … ‘cause I really do want to live my life on purpose! I want to be a link.