For this week’s afterthought, I want to share a few short observations that struck me about our passage this week which we didn’t have time to fully explore on Sunday.

First, it is not only in baptism that we see a picture and symbol of death and resurrection. God has filled His creation with them, and we should love seeing them! From seeds to seasons, butterflies to rainbows, cicadas to sleep – God loves demonstrating that what is laid down in apparent death can be raised up again in glory.

Second, it strikes me that Paul doesn’t seem to struggle at all with the fact that he is in danger “every hour” or that he dies “daily.” His chief concern is the existence of a reason sufficient to justify his suffering. Truth made Paul’s hardships tolerable.

Third, and finally, when Paul called the Corinthians to “Become sober-minded,” he used a word that literally means to “sober up!” The implication is that there is a kind of Christian life that, polluted by sin and error, is intoxicating. I believe we can be intoxicated by the deceitfulness of sin, and I also believe we can be intoxicated by pursuing experience as the measure of our faith. It is a mark of true Christian maturity that we see clearly. Whatever feeds our clear understanding of truth is to be preferred over that which merely increases our emotional experience.