1 Corinthians 3:1-9
“God is in Charge of the Kitchen”
Many have noted that we live in a culture that does not want to grow up.
People dread the mere idea of aging.
Yet, if you just happen to be blessed to live another day, you will get older.
Many parents forsake their role as being “the grown up in the room” in order to be “buddies” with their children.
And who pays for this?
The children, but the parents as well.
I mean, since when was it a great thing to remain a naïve, immature, self-seeking youngster all of one’s life?
Last time I checked, being a teen and a twenty something wasn’t all fun and games.
It was often painful.
And at those ages all we wanted to do was grow up!!!
In our Scripture Lesson for this evening, Paul is addressing a Church that doesn’t want to grow up.
He says that they are “worldly—mere infants in Christ.”
As a matter of fact, they are so immature that Paul has to feed them milk from a bottle rather than “solid food” such as filet mignon and barbeque ribs.
That doesn’t sound like much fun does it?
Kinda puts things into perspective.
It’s good to grow up.
And in order to grow up, we have to go through changes.
For instance, as a small child you might enjoy and receive much stimulation from playing with matchbox cars and Barbie Dolls.
And board games such as Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders will entertain, excite and keep you happily occupied for hours.
As an adult, this stuff is boring.
But that’s a good thing.
Because we change and move on to more substantial things…
…more challenging things.
Stuff that makes a bigger difference in the world and stimulates and challenges us in the process.
In our Scripture Lesson Paul writes,
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”
If this is true, what implications does it have on the way we approach growing spiritually?
Have you ever been frustrated by how little you seem to grow, or how slowly?
How many times have you found yourself in the same old kind of mess you were dealing with 20 years ago, and had to ask yourself: “Haven’t I learned a thing?”
In our Scripture passage Paul has just been talking about the difference between the person who is spiritual, and who can therefore understand spiritual truths…
…and the person whose interests and goals don’t go beyond physical life, and who, therefore is unable to grasp spiritual truth.
And Paul now is accusing the Corinthian Christians of still being in the physical stage!!!
Of course, we are all made of flesh, but we are not to stay that way.
Now what does that mean?
It means that we, who are made of flesh, need not be dominated by the flesh if we have the Spirit of God living in us by faith!!!
And flesh is much more than just a physical thing.
Flesh is human nature apart from God…
…it’s that part of us, both mental and physical, that provides the point of entry for sin.
And sin is what separates us from God, from God’s purposes and stunts our growth!
Say a person becomes a Christian as a teenager, but fails to live according to God’s Spirit…
…perhaps they try every once and a while, but they keep sliding back into the same habits, hatreds, jealousies, selfish actions and so forth.
That person could go their whole life needing “spiritual diapers.”
Time flies!
There is no need to waste it in the Crib.
Paul tells the Christians in Corinth that they have allowed the lower side of their nature to dominate their outlook and actions.
They’ve broken-up into clicks.
But you can’t grow that way!
Some of them claim to be followers of “Paul” and others of “Apollos”…
…and they fight about who is greater.
And nothing gets accomplished.
You see, Paul founded the Church in Corinth and then Apollos came encouraging those who had become believers through Paul’s work.
But Paul is telling them that he and Apollos are merely “servants, through whom” they came to believe.
And the word for “servant” which Paul uses here, unlike the word “slave,” can mean “the one who waits at table.”
In other words, Paul and Apollos are simply the waiters at the table…
…the people who serve the food…
…While God is responsible for choosing the food and cooking it.
And you shouldn’t make a fuss about which waiter brings the food to your table.
What matters is that God is in charge of the kitchen!!!
And this is extremely important, because Paul is basically saying that “you can tell what a person’s relationship with God is like by looking at the way that person interacts with others.”
If someone is quarrelsome, clickish, argumentative, a trouble-maker…
…that person may be a church member, but is not living like a person of God…and certainly is acting like a spiritual infant…not growing up!
But if someone is one with others, and if their relationships are marked by humility and love…
…that person is growing as one of God’s children.
Jesus said on His last night on earth: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.”
But, we so often try to do “it” apart from God.
But this way of life gets us no-where fast!
So how do we grow spiritually?
What does it take?
It’s very simple, really—we are to “do life” with God!!!
Paul explains in Romans Chapter 8 that we can become what God intends us to be as we “no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Keeping our “minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
So simple!!!
But how do we do this very simple thing that is so difficult to do?
Think about the way any growth happens.
How do healthy children grow toward maturity?
As a child matures, eventually he or she should be able to feed herself, relate to others in healthy ways, take responsibility....
…I mean…
…adults who still bite and pinch when they don’t get their way are not generally considered mature—unless they are pro wrestlers!
But growing up is a very messy process.
And we need relationships in order to grow up.
We need loving, supportive relationships.
Children grow best if there are people in their lives like Mom and Dad, who ideally love and support them, encourage them and keep them on the path toward maturity.
And there are friends, coaches, teachers, relatives, and mentors who encourage and guide and set examples.
Children must learn the skills and wisdom and habits necessary to grow into maturity.
And that child will have to be intentional about taking steps down that path.
Of course many mistakes will be made, but many good things will occur as well.
There is nothing wrong with being an infant or a teenager.
It’s a great time in life.
Things are new and exciting!!!
You are able to bring much joy and hope to the world!!!
You just don’t want to stay there your entire life…
…that would be a very sad life indeed.
It would be a complete mess…all the way to the grave!!!
Think about it: At first, when we try and feed ourselves—it’s ugly!
Imagine if we never got past the first stage!!!
If we do get past the first stage eventually we get half the food in our mouth—and only a quarter of it on us.
We also go through many falls before we can walk.
And on it goes…
…it’s a messy journey but that is how people grow!
And spiritual growth is a messy business as well.
And it first means growing in love with God, understanding a bit about how God loves us, and internalizing this love by coming to know God more and more and more.
The Bible says, “We love because he first loved us.”
And how do we come to know this?
Through our spiritual parents, our Christian friends, coaches, teachers, relatives, and mentors who encourage us and guide and set examples.
And by stepping out in faith, following the leading of the Holy Spirit…
…moving forward in our journey of doing life with God!!!
For we “are God’s field, God’s building.”
Each one of us have been given resources: unique gifts and abilities, finances or possessions, and available time to use under God’s direction to love and serve God by uniting together to love and serve the world!
This is how we find meaning.
This is how we grow in Christ.
East Ridge United Methodist Church stands in a unique and exciting position.
We live in an area which has one of the fastest growing homeless populations, and at the same time, this homeless population is the most under-served!!!
How are we, as Christ’s loving Church to respond?
We certainly can decide to stay away from the problem.
We can decide to close ourselves up…
…or we can follow the leading of God’s Spirit…
I’ve read that from time to time, lobsters have to leave their shells in order to grow.
They need the shell to protect them from being torn apart, yet when they grow, the old shell must be abandoned.
If they did not abandon it, the old shell would soon become their prison—and finally their casket.
The tricky part for the lobster is the brief period of time between when the old shell is discarded and the new one is formed.
During that terribly vulnerable period, the transition must be scary to the lobster—if they had brains, that is.
Currents cartwheel them around.
Hungry schools of fish are ready to make them a part of their food chain.
For a while at least, the old shell must look pretty good.
We aren’t so different from lobsters.
To change and grow, we must sometimes shed our shells—a structure, a framework—we’ve depended on.
If we are obedient, when Christ calls us in a certain direction, we will change, risk, grow, and leave our old shells behind.
This Wednesday evening beginning at 6 pm we will have a unique opportunity as Reverend Barry Kidwell, one of Chattanooga’s leading advocates for the poor and homeless, comes to share his story, answer questions and provide insight as to how East Ridge United Methodist Church might be able to serve the growing poor and homeless community in our area.
I hope all of us will come.
We will begin, with Barry at the Church, and then, for those who are interested…
…at the end, Barry will take us to meet some of the homeless in our community.
This is an opportunity for discernment and for growth.
Shall we be waiters at the tables of those outside our doors…
…people who simply serve the Good News of the Kingdom to those who are hungering and thirsting…
…starving, even…
…and we can enter this area of spiritual growth with confidence, because what matters is not the people who serve the food, but that God is in charge of the kitchen!!!
And “only God…makes things grow.”
