The Way of a New Life
God's Justice
2 Corinthians 7:9-13 The Message
8-9 I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don’t feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I’m glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss.10 Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.
11-13 And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart. And that is what I was hoping for in the first place when I wrote the letter. My primary concern was not for the one who did the wrong or even the one wronged, but for you—that you would realize and act upon the deep, deep ties between us before God. That’s what happened—and we felt just great.
For Reflection
This passage points to the role of suffering. The Corinthians course toward separation from God was corrected through the distress they had experienced. Paul's letter, though distressful, pointed out their deviation from a God-centered existence. No "I told you so" or blame from Paul. His response to the turnaround was pure joy.It works that way with individuals too. Do as the Corinthians have done. Turn the stress and anxiety of suffering into a change in perception. See the distress as an opportunity to become more perfect in Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please post comments here.