I Corinthians 4

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes” (5). The Corinthian believers criticized Paul for not measuring up to their expectations of worldly success (7-8). But Paul said that God was the Judge who mattered; he saw “the motives of the heart” (5). Serving the Lord from the heart meant that sometimes the apostles were “hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands ... when we are slandered, we answer kindly” (11-13).

“At that time each will receive their praise from God” (5). The measure of our lives is not meeting worldly expectations, but being faithful to the voice of Jesus.