Woven together in Love
The Spirit Creates one Body
2 Corinthians 11:1-15 The Message
11 1-3 Will
you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a
moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so
much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand
in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband.
And now I’m afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth
patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love
for Christ.
4-6 It
seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we
preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite
nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot “apostles,” why can’t you
put up with simple me? I’m as good as they are. It’s true that I don’t
have their voice, haven’t mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses
you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I’m
talking about. We haven’t kept anything back. We let you in on
everything.7-12 I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God’s Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn’t be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it’s a point of honor with me, and I’m not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It’s not that I don’t love you; God knows I do. I’m just trying to keep things open and honest between us.
12-15 And I’m not changing my position on this. I’d die before taking your money. I’m giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing “preachers,” vaunting themselves as something special. They’re a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ’s agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn’t surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they’re not getting by with anything. They’ll pay for it in the end.
For Reflection
"Flash
in the Pan." Flash and Dash!" Slick Willy." "Con Artist."
"Bunko!" "Squeal and Steal" OK, the last one's mine. I don't know if
it is a common term for the superficial babble that seems to unduly
influence some people. All of us are aware of those who use the name
of God for personal ends. They distort the meaning of the gospel. Fear
is their sword. Lies are their armor.
Follow those who preach the
love that is God. Follow those who foster compassion and forgiveness.
Follow the soldiers of justice and peace.
Pray
Pray
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