MenuLetting Go
“I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud even your own brothers!”
– 1 Corinthians 6:58
Wow! The Apostle Paul really takes the Corinthian congregation to task in this passage. In 55 A.D., the young church in Corinth was riven by internal divisions, so Paul calls them ALL to repentance and points them to their salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that there are no lawsuits among believers at Holy Cross right now — at least none of which I’m aware! So perhaps this is an opportune moment to address litigation. Unfortunately, in today’s America we have lawsuits. We live in a very litigious society. When I served as a lawyer, I worked for companies that were involved in hundreds, even thousands, of lawsuits at any one time. I have seen many people become very emotional about their cases. Discussing this passage from 1st Corinthians, Martin Luther said, “God permits lawsuits because people are imperfect. When someone takes something from them, they don’t want to let go and give it back to God… We should learn from day to day how to give honor and goods back to Him.”
The Lord blesses us with many things during our time on earth: not only possessions but also family, friends, physical and mental abilities, health, knowledge and wisdom, and the like. But these, like our own earthly bodies, do not last forever. As Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) Sooner or later, willingly or not, we will be separated from all earthly things and persons, including those we love dearly, so we should not cling overly much to any one of them. But we will never be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39b) God’s Holy Word and His promise of salvation to all believers remain ours forever.
~Pastor Nickel
