2 Corinthians 2:1–4 (ESV) — 1 For I made up my mind not to make another painful
visit to you. 2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me
glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And I wrote as I
did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have
made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of
you all. 4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and
anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know
the abundant love that I have for you.
NOTE: This is a
tough situation for Paul. He is trying very hard to be positive. He knows that
there is disagreement. He loves them and desires them to experience the true
life of obedience and joy in Christ. He was debating visiting or just sending a
note. His real desire was to visit. Obviously, God led him to write a letter.
And it appears that the congregation accepted his reprimand well. I'm sure that
was very encouraging.
We face many similar
situations today. But letters can be cruel especially when written in haste. Or
when tagged with some spiritual authority, like "I prayed about this and
felt God wanted me to send it." Certainly we should pray and wait, but not
mention it to the person. We are not prophets in the OT sense. We can be wrong.
A better approach is to humbly suggest changes in another person's life. His or
her obedience is an issue between them and God. If it outright sin and blatant,
that is an issue for the elders and can be brought to them.
PRAYER: Lord, we are
such a dirty smelly group of sheep. Help us to love each other first and
foremost, because if we truly love we will only say the things that are helpful
and not hurtful.
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