Rock

1 Corinthians 10v3-4
‘They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.’ 1 Corinthians 10: 3-4

A rock can be seen as a foundation: after all, Jesus says that we should build our house on the rock, the strong foundation, and not on the sand, the weaker foundation that can crumble more easily when a storm comes. 

In this chapter, Paul writes about the Israelites who fled through the desert with Moses and how even though they ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink as the Corinthians, there were many who became drawn to other things, such as sexual immorality and idolatry. It is easy in this world to become focussed on the needs of everyday life, even if there isn’t anything inherently sinful about them but too often, we get drawn in to unsavoury behaviour and we move away from our ‘rock’. 

Jesus should be at the centre of what we do and it is a challenge for me and many others to keep Jesus as our foundation: for him to drive our thoughts and actions in order to enrich the world around us. It often amuses me (and annoys me) how much better I feel when I have spent quality time with God and why I don’t do it more often, especially when time is spent on other worthless endeavours. 

I admired a friend who I shared a room with for 2 weeks for his discipline: every morning, he would get up thirty minutes earlier than necessary to read his Bible and do some press-ups. As much as I wanted to sleep during that time, I couldn’t help but be challenged by one who clearly had God at his centre. It is a daily challenge for me and I hope it is something that we can all aspire to have this Christmas and in the future.
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Jonathan

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Photo by Kristen Sturdivant on Unsplash