Why Corinthians?

The Corinthian letters are full of information, history, specific teachings ... but I'm still moved to ask, "why Corinthians"? "To the church of God at Corinth," no less. How is God even recognizing this group of spiritual hoodlums? They are divisive, immoral, unconcerned about evangelism, unconcerned about each other, abusing the gifts given to them, doubting the resurrection, and generally a church that no one reading this would attend. A church of screwups and crackheads. The church of God at Corinth???? Was Paul mistaken??? Good grief, people today are leaving churches because someone clapped along with a song or because some of our best singers are using a microphone! What would they do at Corinth? Would they turn into a tasmanian devil and whirl around until they had knocked off every wig, flung every false tooth, whipped every communion tray through the air, and toppled the pulpit? You would think so. People leave churches too easily these days. It's all bluster and hoo-hah, if you ask me. I know there comes a time to leave, and I won't judge everyone who's ever left a church ... but I've seen too much of the kind that's just based in self-righteousness. So many have bought into the LIE that has been sold to us: if I disagree with someone then I cannot worship with them in the same building. Just what Scripture did we find that one in? The truth is we have ALWAYS worshiped in the same building alongside those with whom we disagree - whether we knew it or not! What's missing from Corinthians? A plea from Paul to the few faithful ones to get out of that church and go start a "faithful" one! It's not there. Yes, they needed to get their act together and he was strong with them ... but he didn't tell any of them to leave. The truth is that for all of our grand formalism and pomp, we are the Corinthians. We may not know ... and we may choose not to know...what's happening in each other's lives ... but if the Apostle, endowed with the Spirit's discernment, were to walk down our aisle, I propose that he would write no less a letter to us! I think that's why we have Corinthians. Not to catalog a series of admonitions on a set of topics, but to show that even as crummy as we can get at times, we are still God's. And it is not an encouragement to apathy, but a demand that sinners receive the grace of God with humility. And...an instruction to get real.