I'm on holiday, so gloriously have a bit of extra time to write and reflect.
A friend recently reminded me that 2 Corinthians is a letter that should be regularly revisited, particularly by those in full-time paid gospel ministry. She was right - I find it a treasure trove of encouragement and recalibration.
It's written to a church that is probably a bit battered and bruised. They've seen Paul & Timothy "afflicted" (1:8) pretty continuously in their mission around Asia, for believing and proclaiming Jesus. Is this what life is like for those who do the same? Are these Christian poster boys really the real deal, and can we trust them?
Of course, the same question is so often on our lips today. What can a Christian expect a life of ministry (the life every Christian has a part in!) to look like?
Now is not the time to go into great depth, but here are my two reflections on the first few verses in chapter 1 (you can read along here).
God is a comforter
How remarkable that in a letter to a church discouraged and confused, Paul writes to remind them that theirs is the "God of all comfort". He does not remove affliction from Paul and Timothy (far from it, as we'll see later), but rather he is the comfort in all their afflictions. Our God is not one who is at arm's length, reluctant to dirty his hands - no, he is the one who willingly came to suffer and to save.
Isaiah 49 speaks of this same God of all comfort. Here, the "comfort" doesn't seem to be simply a trite "oh, feel better soon, Aimee", like we might tend to think of it. No. rather, God's comfort in Isaiah is a massive reconciling event! God's servant will free prisoners (us!), he will make the way to God straight and easy - that his people might be gathered to him. This is no small, temporary feel-better thing. God's comfort is not merely an emotional Band-Aid.
I find this wonderful, because when Paul speaks of the "God of all comfort" at the beginning of 2 Corinthians, I'm reminded that God's comfort IS his goal. It's not a self-help byproduct of knowing Jesus. Being made relationally right with God through Christ (v5) IS the comfort he speaks of.
"... who comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (v4)
God's Servant is a sufferer
But wonderfully it doesn't stop there. We hear that not only is God a comforter, but that he uses suffering to bring about this great comfort.
Paul says: "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer."
I hark back again to Isaiah 49, where we hear of God's servant who will bring this epic reconciliation. We hear that he will be deeply despised and hated by the people. This Servant, who we know now to be Jesus, was far from a popular poster boy of success in a worldly sense.
And again, isn't this wonderful. It's a complete recalibration for the Corinthian church and us. If it is true that THROUGH Jesus' suffering we are brought God's comfort - then what a privilege to engage in the "comfort-bringing" work, that is suffering for Christ, as little suffering-servants following in the footsteps of the ultimate One.
But what difference does this make on the ground? I'll tell you what difference it makes in my own heart, I'd love to hear your reflections.
I think this chapter stops my knee-jerk reaction to the problems that I face as part of the Christian life being "to fix". Instead, I've seen the value in pausing and reflecting on God's true comfort, and the wonderful, intentional part that suffering has to play in God's plan. It stops me seeing discomfort as something to necessarily be avoided at all costs. It doesn't mean we never change things in practical terms, but perhaps I'm learning to trust that as I struggle along, God is bringing about his great comforting work. Paul seems to value "patient endurance", and I think the way he expects this will happen in the Corinthians is through them really learning to back the "team sport" of suffering servant ministry. He wants them cheering on the sidelines, not lingering, slightly embarrassed in the carpark.
It means in one sense, when I hear that my Christian friend has experienced real exclusion at work for talking about her faith, patient endurance is "Wow, good on you, keep going!!" rather than "Eek, maybe you came on a bit strong..." Patient endurance is directing my heart to what God thinks of this unimpressive example that Paul & Timothy give us, rather than what I naturally think of it. I can see a good degree of reluctant carpark lingering in my own heart (see previous stupid illustration), when it comes to what I think of this picture of ministry.
"Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort." (v7)
Anyway, this post is far too long. Feel free to hold me accountable to these truths. I give you (whoever you are!) absolute permission to remind me of both the privilege and challenge that comes with proclaiming Jesus. Keep going my friends!
[P.S. I can't take the credit for the Isaiah 49 connection to this passage... Cheers SHB associates from last year... haha.]
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