BRF: 2 Corinthians

It’s been a full couple of weeks here, and although I sat down several times to read this book, I don’t think I ever made it through the designated portion for the week. Several attempts does mean that I read the first chapter for each week a few times, so I did learn a couple of things.

Chapter 1 talks a lot about suffering. I don’t want to suffer. I don’t understand why we have to suffer. I know what the chapter says, I know that we suffer so that Christ will comfort us and when we see others suffering we will be able to comfort them because we have already been through it. I also understand that our goal in suffering must be to conduct ourselves in simplicity and godly sincerity, as Paul did, rather than with fleshly wisdom and that it is only through God’s abundant grace that I could ever do that.

I know all that in my head, but heart asks why God couldn’t have worked things out differently. Why couldn’t He have made it so we could do all those things without suffering? Yes, I know how immature that sounds, but it is always the question I find myself thinking. Yes, I also know that I need to trust God. I need to remind myself that His ways are higher than my ways. I don’t mean to question God, and I’m really glad that life works His way, because my ways don’t work so good most of the time.

Just wanted to share that with you all.

Chapter 8 talks about giving. It sounds like the Corinthian believers were doing really well when Paul wrote this letter. They were abounding in everything: faith, speech, knowledge, diligence, love ~ everything except giving. It seems from 8:10 & 11 that these believers had set out to give, but had either changed their mind or delayed following through on that decision. Paul held up the churches of Macedonia as an example for them, churches who during a time of great affliction had abundant joy, deep poverty and great generosity (8:2). I don’t often think of those three together. They didn’t have much, but they still gave beyond their ability. Wow. They first gave themselves to the Lord, totally surrendered to His service. That commitment led them to give to Paul and his fellow workers, a gift that was given with an expression of urgency that it would be received and used to minister to the saints. Wow again.

Most of us do not have unlimited resources. There is always a need in my own life. It can be very tempting to say I can’t afford to give. I say we can’t afford not to. Why is it so hard for us, we who live in one of the richest countries in the world, to part with our money? I don’t know. I do know that while I would never consider bowing to a buddha or an allah, I worship at the shrine of comfort every day of my life. The lust of the flesh for me is just that: the temptation to choose my actions based on my own personal comfort. Giving beyond my ability definitely compromises my comfort standards. (Who am I trying to kid? Giving according to my ability makes me uncomfortable.)

What really stood out to me was that these Macedonian believers had first surrendered themselves to God. If we place ourselves wholeheartedly at God’s disposal, we will give of ourselves to help those in every kind of need and trust Him to provide for us in every way, even financially.

If you would like to be stretched in your thinking about how much you can afford to give, I highly recommend Randy Alcorn’s The Treasure Principle. I have a copy, so if you live nearby, ask if you can borrow it.

So that’s what I bring away from 2 Corinthians. Not even a scratch on the surface, I know. I’ll just have so much to look forward to next time I tackle 2 Corinthians.