PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
2 Corinthians 2 (click the link)
KEY VERSES:
For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you. (2 Corinthians 2:4, NASB)
REFLECTIONS:
The background of this passage is a church in the throes of a major contention surrounding one man or one group of people. The commentators that study this stuff all have different takes on who was involved and what exactly happened. One thing is certain, Paul stirred up someone or some group in the church thru his teaching, and consequently his apostleship and leadership as a founding father of the church in Corinth was questioned. In response, the elders of that church did not come to Paul’s rescue and did nothing to stop this person from attacking Paul and stirring up division in this church. Paul called them on it and instructed them to follow through in disciplining the person responsible. The leadership did not even agree on wanting to do this, but the majority prevailed. They responded… the man repented… but they went further than they needed to. The discipline was for redemption not punishment. Paul’s father heart for these people at Corinth was showing. He now calls for complete forgiveness for the man.
Paul had poured all he had into these people and they had hurt him, but even that did not hinder Paul from hearing the wisdom of God from his beloved Jesus and acting just as He would have. I am not a scholar, but it doesn’t take deep learning to see that Paul loved these people and he saw the best in them. He wanted them to BE the best. He also knew that you can’t make someone DO the right thing. You have to instruct them and back away and let them make a choice to do it… give them time for the Holy Spirit’s voice to sink in. So he delayed his coming to them to give them some space to repent and “stand the test” (verse 9), all the while being anxious for these he loved so dearly… and not having “peace of mind” until Titus gave him the good news that the discipline had the desired effect. Now, it was time to restore this person… to restore him back to the fellowship.
The church at Corinth had a difficult time weighing out what is discipline in love and abuse. The church today is no different. I’m not sure we have figured it out yet. But the scripture is clear; Jesus sets those in the body to minister loving admonitions and disciplines. We must learn to speak words of truth to one another and then back away and let the Holy Spirit work thru those words. We all have blind spots that need to be brought to the Light. It is not comfortable for the giver or the receiver… and as Paul says “grief,” but it brings about the “peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
I have been in several churches during my lifetime and I believe this is the hardest thing to walk in. I think the modern church has grown so tolerant that sin can abide easily in us. Sometimes more than a nice sermon is needed. Words of correction and discipline are needed. Recently Greg had a sermon about Solomon’s wisdom to rule the Kingdom and how God had granted that to him. I think that today we need this kind of wisdom to know what to do in many situations. We live in a much more complex world than Paul’s day, but his words are very poignant. We need fathers and mothers to arise in the body that will love the next generation into powerful repentance… Ones who walk in the wisdom of God to bring can bring about swift repentance in LOVE. The next generation need not suffer some of the things we had to go through because no one loved us enough to stop us from playing in the traffic… that is not love, that is neglect.
In the study to prepare for writing this, I came across this awesome thought by Bob Utley:
God had created all humans with
free will, which is both a precious and a dangerous thing. It holds the
potential of joy and restoration or embitterment and continuing rebellion.
Examine your heart to see if you are one of those “moms or dads” to the body. Let the Holy Spirit begin to teach you how to “give and receive” words of admonition. Most of us are physical Moms and Dads at home and God has worked many holy designs in us. Let him mature your heart to LOVE those in the body.
PRAYER:
Lord, you above all, are the master of encouragement, discipline, and love. Please pour into me these traits of yours. I know that I am a fallen person, just as my brothers and sisters are. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me to have a heart of wisdom and understanding to know the Truth and to be able to speak it as you do. Let me not cower back when truth is needed as well as to be ready to forgive any grievance and to not record wrongs against me. Help me to walk in REAL love. The kind you have for me.
WHO AM I?
I’m June Criner and I am really enjoying this brief period of cool weather as well as the rain. My flowers in the front of the house are sooooo happy!
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