Before I surrendered my life to Jesus, I thought I was in control of my life and did not seek his will. I did not recognise God’s hand in my life but sought recognition and praise for myself. This is the behaviour that Paul is describing regarding the church in Corinth. Despite his discipling and sharing of the Gospel, the Corinthians were proud, boastful and judgemental. To the Corinthians the Christian life meant flaunting their privileges and boasting about their achievements; to Paul it meant humble service and a readiness to die for Christ. This is not a situation that happened only in Corinth. It is happening even today. There is no place for pride when we follow Jesus. God looked upon us with grace and mercy and he chose to intervene in our hopeless situations by sending us his only Son. When we recognise what God has done, we will be filled with gratitude and humility. Everything we have is a gift from God, received by his grace. This should be a daily reminder to ourselves.

PRAYER: Abba Father, I come before you with humility and gratitude for every gift you have given me. Amen.