Friday, July 2, 2010
1 Corinthians 1:26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
MEMBERS OF CHURCHES USUALLY FROM THE LOWLY
Had He chosen only powerful, learned, and holy folk as apostles, no one could have persuaded the world that not only the holy and the rich but also the poor should belong to the kingdom of God. And now, too, He takes the lowliest and gathers what the world rejects as useless and unfit ... For He desires to be praised as One who deals with us by grace and not for the sake of our golden hair or whatever else may be good about us and cause us to be proud and arrogant. What would have happened if the Lord had surrounded Himself with men of great influence? ... But we should not take this to mean that the kingdom of Christ rejects the powerful and the wealthy and that they do not belong in this kingdom, that even those who are living a pious, respectable, and virtuous life are to have no place at His side. What He cannot bear is the notion that our wisdom and wealth are commonly the foundation of the kingdom of Christ, as if the kingdom of Christ could not stand firmly or endure if kings, princes, and lords did not protect and manage it with their counsel, help and service.
- From "What Luther Says" by Ewald M. Plass
