daily spiritual reflection - mar. 12

daily spiritual reflection

BIBLE READING FOR THE DAY: 

I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world, does, I too will boast. You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that.

Whatever anyone else dares to boat about-- I am speaking as a fool-- I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashed minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

  - 2 Corinthians 11:16-31

THOUGHT: We've all seen those really epic movies when the leader of a group of people has been convinced into following the 'bad guy', or when the good guys are set against each other by a conspiring 'bad guy.' In these cases, a people stop trusting their true leaders and instead start following a false leader, blindly, to their own ruin. And it is only in trust, and returning to unity and truth, that they finally conquer and win. And usually there's some great hero who comes in with an amazing speech to turn the tide around, to rally the troops again to his leadership or to gain trust one more time. This passage is kind of like that great hero's speech.

Paul, one of the main leaders of the early church-- he planted churches all over the mediterranean and wrote a number of the letters that make up the New Testament of the Bible, is on the good side of just such a situation right now. The Corinthian church has been taken by some cunning, false apostles, who are turning the Corinthian Church against Paul and guiding them away from Jesus. Known as a gentle and soft-spoken man in person, Paul's letters showed a strength and conviction that surprised many. This excerpt is one such passage of strength. He is calling out the church, and making a last stand to show them that they were wrong to turn away from him and follow false leaders and that they should turn back to him and trust him. Not one to boast, necessarily, he gives the church a full account of all the things he has suffered, as a last resort to prove to the church that he is true to them, that he is worth following, as he follows Christ.

Though we may not wish to ever be in a situation where we must emulate this kind of boasting (indeed, Paul probably would discourage such a foolish way of speaking), his forceful confession of hardship gives us an amazing record of a man who spent his life fighting with all he had for the cause closest to his heart-- seeing the love of God change peoples lives, and the church growing and preparing for Christ's eventual return. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that "No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause." It is this kind of risk and struggle that gives our lives meaning. What we fight for, and the hard things we do, these are what grow our character and determine who we become.

CHALLENGE:  Do you have a God-given cause to die for? Or, in better terms, a cause to live for? The comforts of a modern life surround most of us, and the idea of giving our lives or risking our bodies for some great cause (note: not just in foolishness) may be a bit of a stretch as far as we can see right now. But spend today reflecting on the power of doing hard things, the power of sacrificing, the power of taking risks for some something greater than ourselves. How have you done this in the past and how have you grown and strengthened as a result? What are the reasons you avoid these risks or avoid doing the hard thing? What sacrifices, challenges, or risks, would a God like the one we've been talking about possibly be calling you into in the future? Reflect on why choosing sacrifice and struggle can change things. 

Lastly, take a chance, sometime this weekend, to choose the inconvenient, uncomfortable, sacrificial, or risky way. Ask God to give you guidance in this choice that it be for a good reason/cause, and reflect on your choice afterwards. Let's see what happens.