Keeping the main thing the main thing

You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 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 3:3-5

Flight 401 was bound for Miami from New York City with a load of holiday passengers on the night of December 29, 1972. As the huge aircraft approached the Miami Airport for its landing, a light that indicates proper deployment of the landing gear failed to come on. The plane flew in a large, looping circle over the swamps of the Everglades while the cockpit crew checked out the light failure.

The flight engineer fiddled with the bulb. He tried to remove it, but it wouldn’t budge. Another member of the crew tried to help out… and then another. By and by, if you can believe it, all eyes were on the little light bulb that refused to be dislodged from its socket. No one noticed that the plane was losing altitude.

Finally, it dropped right into a swamp, killing 101 people. While an experienced crew of high-priced and seasoned pilots messed around with a tiny light bulb, an entire airplane and many of its passengers were lost. The crew momentarily forgot the most basic of all rules of the air—don’t forget to fly the airplane!

The same thing can happen to Christians today. In the midst of so much arguing and debating about worship styles, preaching personalities, and minor theological points, they often forget the most basic rule—reach others for Christ. So as you live your life, focus on what really matters and show the world the love of Jesus!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would show you where to compromise, where to stay firm, and most of all, how you can advance His Kingdom and make disciples.