#DailyDevotion The Christian Life Is: Not Easy, Is Principled & Appears Cursed By God
2 Cor. 6:3-10 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.
After telling the Corinthians to not let God’s grace be wasted on them he goes to talking how God’s grace has been operating in his own life. In this he is justifying his ministry as an apostle as opposed to those “super apostles” who oppose him and try to ruin his work behind his back.
On the one hand we see the difficulties that Paul is going through. Jesus told Ananias that Paul would go through all this stuff in Acts 9, “16I will show him how much he has to suffer for Me.” So Paul is a good worker through great endurance and suffering. He has been in need and in hardships. Paul was beaten, put in prisons, in riots, overworked and went without sleep and food. He endures such things because he does not want God’s grace wasted on him. He wants to serve his LORD.
How did Paul undergo such things in his ministry? We have a series of bys in a couple of verses. He does these things by being pure, knowledge (of the LORD and his great work in Christ Jesus), patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit (who is operating all these things in Paul), sincere love, telling the truth, God’s power (the gospel of Jesus), and weapons of righteousness (Word and Sacraments). You may experience things Paul did but how did you get through them? How will you go through them? Look to the things Paul used here. Don’t let God’s grace be wasted on you by acting contrary to the calling to which you have been called. The Holy Spirit will help you greatly here. Pray the Father to make him operative in your life and receive the grace he means to give you in your baptism, the LORD’s Supper, confession and absolution, corporate worship and the preached word, and being built up in the faith through confession and absolution to and from your fellow Christians.
Paul then shows us things aren’t always what they seem. To his opponents and those not familiar with God’s word, they may think Paul as he goes through these things is a deceiver, unknown, dying, corrected (disciplined), sad, beggars and having nothing. On the contrary, in all these things he is honest, known, living, glad, making others rich in God’s grace, mercy and kingdom, and has everything. When you are living in God’s grace in Christ Jesus, you too will appear to be a paradox. It is the theology of the cross that those who appear cursed by God are actually living in his grace and by his grace. When your Christian life seems as if it is cursed, know in Christ Jesus it is actually blessed.
Heavenly Father, may the Holy Spirit be operative in our lives so we may bear all things in the Spirit of Christ and have faith in Christ in the midst of all troubles. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.