Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 9:13-18

Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

Paul would sacrifice his life for preaching the gospel. In the book of 2 Corinthians, we saw that he suffered for the cause of the gospel to the point of being thrown into prison, whipped, beaten by rod, and stoned. He encountered all kinds of danger, so if it wasn't for a higher goal in life, he would have persevered all of them. What exactly was the real goal for Paul to preach the gospel? It was to respond to God's calling. If it wasn't from God, Paul would have continued to preach the gospel through all the hardship.

When someone receives such a vision from heaven, there's no way for the person not to charge forward, because such a vision would be like fire burning in the heart that would drive the person to go forward continuously. When we serve God or preaching the truth of the Lord, we must first receive a vision. The Bible says that "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint." Another translation says that people will perish. Without a vision, we are simply doing things according to our own zeal, and sooner or later we will be exhausted. If we, however, received a vision from God, it will become the driving force in our life to serve God. Paul essentially said that he must keep on serving God because of the vision and calling that he received, and he also said that "If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me." So, to Paul the mission was not a matter that he could choose, but he must do it; if he didn't, he'd forsake the responsibility entrusted to him.

Brothers and sisters, we have been redeemed with the steep price of the life of Jesus, so we all belong to the Lord and we all have a mission in our lives. We must be light and salt in the world and bring people to Christ. This is a responsibility that we cannot deny. Let us learn from the example of Paul and dedicate our lives to serving God.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you because you have paid a steep price to redeem us so that we may solely belong to you. Your will is for not just to enjoy your grace, but to pass this grace onto others. We ask that you give us the same determination as Paul to preach the gospel in the world for you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!