Read 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; 13:4–7
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. —1 Corinthians 6:11
A young Japanese man had a problem—he was afraid of leaving his house. He was a hikikomori, a modern-day hermit. The problem began when he stopped going to school because of poor grades. The longer he stayed home, the more he felt like a social misfit—and he soon was seeing no one. Eventually he got help toward recovery by visiting a youth club called an ibasho—a safe place where broken people start reintroducing themselves to society. What if we thought of the church as an ibasho? Without a doubt, we are a community of broken people. When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he described their former way of life as antisocial, harmful, and dangerous to themselves and others (1 Corinthians 6:9–10). But in Jesus they were being transformed. And Paul encouraged these rescued people to love one another, to be patient and kind, not to be jealous or proud or rude (13:4–7). The church is to be an ibasho where we can find God’s love. May the hurting world experience Christ’s compassion from all who follow Him.
-Poh Fang
Father, we pray for the universal church, that as one body in Christ we will rise up and show a hurting World that You love and care for them. We may not be able to meet physically in the same place now, but may our homes become a safe place for souls that are searching for You. ~Amen
