Remembering God in a Small World: Applications from 1 Corinthians
“Am I actively seeking opportunities to deepen friendships and preach the gospel?”
I think, on average, I spend about 75% of my waking hours at home or isolated elsewhere. I could be working or studying at home or tapping away silently at my computer in the office. None of my work is very collaborative: I’m a college student in STEM classes, doing drafting on the side. When I am out and about and not in the office, 50% of that time is spent in ministry or at church, be it Bible study or otherwise. Point being: I am not currently around people who aren’t my family, be it physical or spiritual, very much at all.
All this to say, these circumstances have generally created a very small gospel fishing hole for the time being, which can be problematic.
In the C&YA sermon “A Relational Gospel,” we covered 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, which says “22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all [men], that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with [you].”
This got me thinking about my general routine’s orientation for the gospel. I find myself in a life situation where I am alone a lot. Within that life situation, do I do the things I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might partake in it with my brothers and sisters?
Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” From the moment that I wake up, am I truly doing everything on-purpose for the mission? Does that focus stop after my quiet time ends (acting like I am thinking, “I’ve spent the time I needed to keep my friendship with God nice for today, now I can focus on my tasks and trinkets again”)? With the time that I am around coworkers and classmates, am I trusting God to direct my paths? Am I actively seeking opportunities to deepen friendships and preach the gospel?
A lot of what I had been thinking about is very Christianity 101, but, as Paul says in Philippians 3:1, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.” Rehearsing the basics in one’s mind is an essential part of the way God designed Christianity to work, so I will do a lot of that here.
“My coworkers know I am a Bible believer, but in every waking moment, do I?”
It is said that the very best sports teams are the ones whose grasp on the fundamentals is the strongest, and the Christian life is no different. In Hebrews 12:1-2, the Christian life is compared to a race, and the writer of Hebrews encourages us to run it well! “1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” As I run the cross-country race of Christian living, do I have good form? How is my focus on the fundamentals?
Is everything I do throughout the day focused on the gospel? Do I sit at the library and study engineering for the sake of gospel? Do I talk shop with my coworkers during the workday for the sake of gospel? My coworkers know I am a Bible believer, but in every waking moment, do I? Am I always cognizant of that fact? Psalm 119:97 describes this process: “MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” Meditation is commonly known to be some weird new-age brain clearing thing, but biblically it means “reflection; by extension devotion” and “prayer” (see Strong’s concordance for H7881). Throughout the day, am I reflecting on what Christ has done for me, and acting upon that information with regards to my daily tasks?
Do I, despite my prayers, forget that God is working the lives of the lost, and could choose me to be the conduit through which the solution to their sin problem is offered? Or am I too focused on my routine? In my workplace and in my classes, I am around a lot of a lot of atheists and agnostics that have expressed bitterness at God or his people, and I conclude that they just don’t want to hear the gospel, why try? Or, maybe they will ignore me because they have staunch beliefs about the evolutionary origins of man. My flesh’s advice is to categorically dismiss them as seed-plots for the gospel, which is callous and cruel. And even if these statements were true, will that be true every single day until the end of time? No, God is at work! So I need to actively, and not just say I will, trust God for those doors of utterance discussed in Colossians 4:3, to preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, trusting God that it would affect some change in their mind and heart (Isaiah 55:11).
When opportunities outside the norm crop up, do I take them? I have a horrible attendance record at MBT’s monthly Hit the Streets evangelism event because I always find a new creative way to be too busy to go, instead of trusting God to use that time for his glory. One obstacle that is tough to admit to is, “sort of not feelin’ it today,” which is an excuse I fall for like, half the time, even if my conscious mind wouldn’t really want to admit to thinking it. I want to wait until I feel good and spiritual, when obeying God feels easy and rewarding. The flesh doesn’t ever feel like serving the Lord, but we don’t have to listen to it! Part of this is the routine of it. If I have a habit of denying my flesh every 1st Saturday, it will be much easier to obey God and get out there the next time. 1 Corinthians 9:25 says, “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” If I find my normal routine in this season prohibitive, I need to be temperate and should seek wide-open doors like this (friends, hold me accountable)! Every time I go to a corporate evangelism event, whether that be through Hit the Streets or Friends of Internationals, God shows up. And at a minimum, even if almost nobody is talking, I get to either preach the gospel or pray for somebody who is actively preaching.
I also think about the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. In it, a rich man delegates varying amounts of coinage to three servants, one 5 talents, one two talents, and a single talent for the third. The rich man expected his servants to deliver a return on investment over the course of a long journey. The first two servants were each able to double the amount of money they were given! These servants were counted faithful. But the third servant gets too afraid of fumbling the bag to invest the money, and instead buries it in order to keep it safe. The rich man is upset, calling the servant wicked and slothful, because at a minimum he could have simply invested it in the bank to receive the interest payments on his money. The servant didn’t focus on increasing the investment of his master, instead he trusted in his own methods of keeping it around.
“As I commit my ways to the Lord, I can be assured that he will direct my paths”
I have been given a life with resources and investment opportunities I can apply those resources to, be they specific people or evangelistic outreach. The resources and opportunities might not be the same as other people’s, but they are mine and God gave them to me to be a steward. Am I so focused on maintaining the safety of the bag that I do not invest it into my father’s business?
I’ve been guilty of praying “oh please use me today” prayers and not really meaning it, because I really want to change the channel and hyperfocus on whatever my cool new special interest is that day. However, I’ve found that often when I genuinely trust God with the ordering of my day, I am given opportunities to deepen friendships with the lost and/or preach the gospel, whether that be bumping into an old friend in the library or having good conversations at Hit the Streets. I should actively trust God for every day to be something like this.
Lastly, we should keep in mind that seasons are temporary! They aren’t called “forevers.” Mine is clearly demarcated: I graduate college soon and will hopefully end up in a role with more day-to-day interaction with my coworkers. In the post-covid era, I’ve had plenty of seasons where I was around people all the time, so there’s no reason to expect this one to be permanent. I can also trust God to use the college degree I am earning to create tentmaking jobs in the mission field, so I can clearly see that I am not trapped in a purposeless wasteland. As I commit my ways to the Lord, I can be assured that he will direct my paths!
1 Corinthians 9:16 says, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” My life being small right now is not an exemption from doing this well. I need to trust God with my circumstances and work with the resources and structure I currently have, to best execute his reason for keeping me on the earth (which is to preach the gospel) and trust him to guide me through them and grow as a believer.
Sam Miles Jr. is a member of Midtown Baptist Temple and is a part of C&YA. He leads the C&YA AV ministry and is a member of a men’s UMKC Bible study.
