8-9I 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. (The Message)
In Paul's desire to be faithful to Jesus he sometimes found himself having to say unpopular things. It wasn't that he liked conflict (you should probably steer clear of anyone who says they actually like conflict) but that he was willing to face conflict for the greater purpose of being faithful. He knew that without making people face the reality of their choices to follow their own desires rather than God's desires that they would end up falling away from Jesus and losing out on the fullness of life that God wants for us all. By being willing to say the hard things Paul was able to help the people of Corinth return to following Jesus in a deeper and more faithful way. We can only wonder what might have happened if Paul had not been willing to confront the issues that he God made him aware of in the lives of the Corinthians.
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- How long do you think it took the Corinthians to be thankful that Paul brought up hard things for them to wrestle with about their actions and attitudes?
- What might have been the result if Paul had been unwilling to say the hard things that the people of Corinth needed to hear?
- Have you ever been confronted by someone about your actions or attitudes in such a way that you were able to change and become more Christ like? How did they do it?
- Is there a conversation that God has been encouraging you to have that might help someone to return to faithfulness in a new and more vigorous way? What is keeping you from having that conversation?
No comments:
Post a Comment