Correction
In 2
Corinthians 2 we get a deeper sense of the cause of pain for Paul. Paul had already made a painful visit to
Corinth and he was determined to not do another one. This points to a huge struggle for spiritual people
– especially for the spiritual leaders.
How does one balance genuine correction with not wanting to hurt another
person?
As I was
reading a few commentaries on this chapter, I came across Warren Wiersbe’s
words for the opening four verses of 2 Corinthians 2. Wiersbe reminds us of the difference between
hurting someone and harming them. When
one hurts another human being, it causes pain.
When one harms another person, it causes damage – sometimes irreparable
damage.
Wiersbe
then went on to say that occasionally a person must hurt another to keep them
from harming themselves. The parent who
grounds their adolescent child or slaps the hand of an infant reaching for
something dangerous is a great example.
This parent causes hurt, but the hurt is intended to keep someone from
harm. The school teacher who assigns an
appropriate amount of homework is another example of this. The teacher causes some pain in that the
student cannot go home and spend the entire rest of the day as they please, but
the teacher does it to promote genuine learning.
Spiritually
speaking, this concept is also true.
Sometimes the spiritual mentor or a pastor must cause some hurt in order
to promote growth or to alleviate harm.
Sometimes the spiritual leader must ask difficult questions in order to
convict and invoke growth towards God.
That does not mean that it is easy, but sometimes it is necessary. As with the parent, the teacher, or any other
authority figure the intent of the correction should not be to harm. Pain is one thing; damage is entirely another
thing.
Forgiveness
Paul then
continues this thought in the following section about love. Paul affirms that love does occasionally
discipline and that discipline does bring about pain from time to time. However, the goal of the discipline is not to
cause pain but to elicit growth. This is
why forgiveness is important. Once
discipline has been measured out and received, forgiveness can be extended. The
lesson is genuinely learned and there is no longer any reason to hold a
grudge. We forgive for the sake of the
offender so that they might not be overburdened with sorrow. But we also forgive for the sake of Christ
who extends God’s forgiveness to the truly repentant.
God’s in Control
Paul then
moves us from forgiveness to understanding that the Lord is the one in
charge. When Paul goes to Troas and
doesn’t find Titus there, he knows that something has happened in Corinth. Yet Paul can continue on with his journey
because ultimately it is God who is in charge.
God is the one who receives glory.
We do not work to our own credit, but rather we work to the credit and
glory of God. We correct to give God the
glory. We forgive to give God the
glory. God is in charge, God gets the
glory.
Striving for the Glory of God
This leads
us into 2 Corinthians 3. Paul does a
masterful job in this chapter talking about the work of the Christian as we
strive to give God the glory. Notice
that Paul makes three comparisons:
- Paul compares the value of a written letter of recommendation to that of an actual changed life.
- Paul compares the glory of the ministry of death (the giving of the Law) to the glory that comes from the ministry of life (the giving of the Holy Spirit).
- Paul compares the need to hide the glory of the Lord with the veil (Moses) to the ability to let the glory of the Lord shine (Christ).
Paul is
saying that the genuine Christian does not need a letter of recommendation from
other people. If God has worked through
a person to change the life of another individual, what other reference do you
need? Is it better to have a letter
talking about how great a person is or is it better to actually see with your
own eyes how God is working through a person?
The point isn’t for other people to see how great I am, the point is for
me to make myself available to God so that other people may be changed.
The same
thing can be said with the glory of the Lord.
Should we be hiding the glory of the Lord because some people might not be
able to stand in its presence? Should we
be dampening the glory of the Lord because it might ask too much change from
us? Or should we be revealing the glory
of the Lord in everything we do and inviting people in to experience the glory
of the Lord with us? Is it not best to
experience the glory of the Lord for yourself and feel the presence of God in your
midst?
The test
of ministry is whether or not there are changed lives. I know I am doing the work of the Lord if I
can see people in my midst whose lives are changing. You know that you are doing the work of the
Lord if you can see people in your midst whose lives are changing. We don’t need recommendation letters, we need
changed lives. We don’t need to cover up
the glory of the Lord, we need to reveal it to the world!
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment