February 1: 1 Corinthians 1:17 - In the Shadow of the Cross (Today's Reflection from My Utmost For His Highest)

Daily Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 1:17 "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." 

Paul understood something very simple: God called him to lift up Jesus — not to focus on himself, not to track his spiritual progress, and not to make his own experiences the center of the story.

When Paul talked about preaching “the gospel,” he meant sharing the truth about redemption — the fact that Jesus paid the price to bring us back to God, forgive our sins, and make us His again. Redemption is Jesus rescuing us and restoring us. It’s the whole work He did on the cross, not just the moment we first believed.

We often mix this up. We start thinking the main goal is sanctification — our spiritual growth, our slow becoming‑more‑like‑Jesus over time. Sanctification is real and important, but it’s not the center. It’s simply what happens as we walk with God. It’s God shaping us gently from the inside out, not us trying to fix ourselves.

Paul never made his growth the message.

He made Jesus the message.

And when we forget that, we end up praying as if everything depends on us — asking God over and over to fix us, change us, help us improve. We imagine we’re bothering Him with our constant needs. But when we really grasp the truth of redemption — that Jesus has already done the heavy lifting — our prayers begin to shift. We stop living from a place of fear and start living from a place of trust.

Paul lived with one passion: to lift up Christ. Difficult circumstances didn’t distract him; they actually kept him focused. They reminded him that the gospel is bigger than comfort, bigger than success, bigger than personal progress.

And that’s our calling too.

Not to perfect ourselves.

Not to obsess over how we’re doing spiritually.

But to lift up Jesus in the way He designed us to.

What this looks like for us today:

Proclaiming the gospel doesn’t mean we have to preach like Paul or confront strangers. Most of the time, it looks much quieter. We proclaim the gospel when we live from the truth that Jesus has already rescued and restored us. We proclaim it when our words and actions carry His peace, kindness, and steadiness. We proclaim it when we speak of Jesus naturally, when we offer prayer to someone who’s hurting, and when we share what God has done in our own lives without pressure or performance. And for some of us — me, for example — we proclaim the gospel through writing: through gentle teaching, simple explanations, and imagery that helps people feel the truth of Christ’s love. We lift Him up in the way He made us to, trusting the Spirit to do the drawing.

Prayer

Lord, bring me back to what is simple and true. 

Help me rest in the work You have already finished, instead of worrying about how much I’m growing. Let others see You in the way I live my life. 

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Breath Prayer

Inhale: You have redeemed me.

Exhale: Let my life lift You up.

Benediction

May the peace of Christ settle over you and free you from striving. May His finished work be your foundation, and may your life quietly shine with the truth of His redemption as you walk in His grace.

~ Quil

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