#DailyDevotion Don’t Let God’s Grace Be Wasted On You
2 Corinthians 6:1–10 As men who are working with God we plead with you: Don’t let God’s grace be wasted on you. 2He says: At a favorable time I have heard you; On the day of salvation I have helped you. Look, now is the favorable time. Look, now is the day of salvation. 3We’re not in any way giving people a reason to turn away, to keep them from finding fault with our work. 4Instead we’re in everything showing we’re God’s good workers by great endurance in suffering, in need, and in hardships; 5when we’re beaten or put in prison, when there are riots; when we’re overworked and go without sleep and food; 6by being pure, by knowledge, by patience and kindness; by the Holy Spirit; by sincere love; 7by telling the truth; by God’s power; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and the left; 8when we’re honored or dishonored, blamed or praised. Treated as deceivers, we are honest; 9as unknown, we are well known; as dying, and you see, we go on living; as corrected but not killed; 10as sad, we’re always glad; as beggars, we’re making many rich; as having nothing, we really have everything.
Paul and his company plead with the Corinthians to not let God’s grace be wasted on them. I could see how they had to write this second letter to them and we know that Clement of Rome also wrote a couple of letters to them practically copying Paul’s letters to them. They seem to have been a mess. Yet let us not think too highly of ourselves. We too are messes. Don’t think you’re not lest you fall. Let us also take heed lest the grace of God be wasted on us. This grace was told us in the previous chapter. God had made Christ Jesus to be sin for us so we could be the righteousness of God. This was a free gift to us, hence a great grace. To waste God’s grace is to turn back to a life of sin and darkness, letting the desires of our flesh have their way with us. Instead, Paul appeals to us, “now is the day of salvation!” You don’t have any better time to start living a life of repentance and faith than now. Yesterday is a distant memory and tomorrow may never come. But now, at this moment, God is extending the hand of friendship to you in Jesus Christ.
The following verses then commend Paul and his message to us. He lists off many things he and his companions are going through to get the message of Jesus Christ to the Corinthians and to the world. We see a number of these things accounted for in the book of Acts. Your pastor is no doubt not a stranger to some of these as well. He probably doesn’t complain or speak of them as he commits himself to Christ and looks to him for strength and encouragment. You too may experience some of this as you live our your life in Christ. Jesus did promise all his disciples a cross. If you follow Christ Jesus, trouble will be there behind, beside and in front of you.
The final few verses show us the Christian life isn’t always what it seems. We are living paradoxes. “Treated as deceivers, we are honest; 9as unknown, we are well known; as dying, and you see, we go on living; as corrected but not killed; 10as sad, we’re always glad; as beggars, we’re making many rich; as having nothing, we really have everything.” This is probably more evident where Christianity isn’t the majority’s faith. It is becoming more so every day in the west and in the country I reside, the United States. I see it particularly on social media. Scoffers and mockers who particularly don’t think for themselves but copying the stuff of more clever individuals. If we engage remember Paul’s previous commendation to the Corinthians and try to follow his example so we may perhaps call them to repentance with us.
Heavenly Father, may we make full use of the grace given us in Christ Jesus so we may witness to the world around us the love you have for it in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.