Reflections on 1 Corinthians 3:5
“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” (1 Corinthians 3:5, NIV)
Paul answers his own question: only servants. Knox calls them “ministers of the God in whom your faith rests.” The Remedy, by Dr. Tim Jennings of Come and Reason Ministries, puts it beautifully: they are “merely aids of God; conduits of his,” each doing their part in the healing process, as the Lord has assigned.
We each have our talents, gifts and abilities. We are a tool in the hand of the Lord. When we allow the Lord to use us to bless others, we are no more than a guide for those who have not traveled this way before. Someone had to show us the way. Someone allowed the Lord to use them to be our blessing, and now we are passing the blessing on to those we meet each day.
That is all Paul and Apollos ever were. The Corinthians were arguing over the guides and forgetting the One who sent them.
Often we are a blessing without ever being aware of the fragrance we leave in our wake. We rush through our day and still find the Love and Grace to say the kind word, do the quick kind act, astonishing those we pass with our kind generosity.
And I do mean shocking. I have found this effect is more common than one would realize. People are truly astonished when they witness or receive an unconscious act of kindness. The stronger the act, the more dissonance it creates in the mind, and the stronger the opportunity for real change. This is the true science of permanent change: for the mind to accept change, there needs to be a strong push to take note of it and to want it.
They are not used to witnessing such kindness. It leaves an impression. The next time we pass that way, our reception will be more welcoming, and we will have a better opportunity to share with them.
Paul knew that fragrance well. “Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14). The fragrance is His; we only carry it.
Just walking through our day with the fires of Love and Truth flowing out of us to all we pass is a powerful witness for the healing power of Christ. Keep your eyes, heart and ears open for the little questions and small gestures the Spirit can make you aware of, as you continue to focus outward.
