Life
November 21, 2011
Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 7,8,9,10 NLT
SCRIPTURE
“....we have these
promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can
defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we
fear God.” - 2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT
“8 I am
not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first,
for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad
I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent
and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have,
so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow
God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation.
There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks
repentance, results in spiritual death.” - 2 Corinthians 7:8-9 NLT
OBSERVATION
Paul’s heart toward those in Corinth is
reviled in his opening line in chapter 7 stating, “.... we have these promises, dear friends....” (vs1).
What promises is Paul referring to?
Let’s go 2 Corinthians 6 16-18 to
discover what promises he is talking about:
“I
will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my
people. 17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and
separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy
things, and I will welcome you. 18 And I will be your
Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord
Almighty.”
Okay.
1) God lives in us and walks among us.
So, God is spirit and He is able to be in everything and is everywhere.
Okay. 2) God speaks through Paul and
says, “separate yourselves from them
(unbelievers)...” How? Why? Paul’s statement here causes me to
question his direction. Is he really
asking me to “separate” myself from
unbelievers? As I review things in
context (the entire New Testament) I hear Paul asking me to not engage
in things that don’t benefit myself; however, he is not asking me to withdraw
from my friends that don’t believe.
The promises Paul references in 7.1 are
found in his last few sentences in chapter 6:
“I
will welcome You.” - 6.17
“I
will be Your Father.” - 6.18
“you
shall be my sons & daughters.” - 6.18
God promises (and desires) a genuine
growing relationship established through a choice.
What choice? The choice to be with Him. The choice only I can make - to pursue Him
and His ways - trusting that His ways are better than mine - trusting that as I
read the Bible and live out His ways a transformation will take place and
genuine life will come, to myself and those around me; verses, a facade or
temporary illusion of what a genuine life is.
What does this mean? I get to lean in and trust in God’s word -
allowing His’s spirit to point out misconceived truths, bad-habits, and
pre-conceived ideas that society deems as okay but ultimately bring me
harm.
How does God’s word / spirit benefit
me? It enables me to make a wise
decision (logically and emotionally)
between God’s ways (fullness, health, and
life) and verse my limited understanding.
It’s like making a directional decision without a GPS, an up to date
map, or any realistic perimeters. So, I
actively choose to step away from that which harms me and towards that which
benefits me.
*This
process is easy to talk about and very challenging to live out.
“8For
though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did
regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a
while—9I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you
were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful
according to the will of God....10For the sorrow that is according
to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation,
but the sorrow of the world produces death.” - 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NSAB
APPLICATION
1) As I read and hear God’s word / Paul’s
letter - I’m pushed towards God’s ways.
This push will cause me to internally wrestle and may possibility bring
me to an emotional state of sorrow.
*Wikipedia: “Sorrow is an emotion,
feeling, or sentiment. Sorrow 'is more "intense" than sadness...it
implies a long term state'. At the same time 'sorrow - but not unhappiness -
suggests a degree of resignation...which lends sorrow its peculiar air of
dignity'.' In terms of attitude, sorrow can be said to be half way between
sadness (accepting) and distress (not accepting').”
2) According to verses 8-10, sorrow often
leads to one of two places:
(A) To the point of change / repentance, that
doesn’t produce a crushing weight of regret but something that leads to
restoration, reconciliation, and ultimately a salvation from some kind of death(emotional, relational, or physical).
--OR--
(B) To the point of becoming numb, through the
process of attempting to carry an overwhelming weight of sorrowful guilt. Being “numb” may refer to having deficient
psychological, physical, or emotional sensations. In terms of an individual becoming “numb” in
feeling - one may also be called, “callus” which is a toughened area that is
relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction, pressure, or other
irritation - physical or emotional.
Bottom line: It’s my choice.... to interacted with God via
His word.... to slowly read.... to listen.... to wrestle with ideas.... to interact....
to make a decision....
PRAYER
I need make time to interact with You
through Your word on a regular basis. “Be still and know that I am God” - Psalm
46:10 NSAB. To write things down.... To wrestle ideas and statements out more
often.... Why? Because, I want to have a
genuine growing relationship with Jesus Christ verses a mere facade or
temporary religious experience! Is my life really affected / transformed by
God’s Word? I’m I living according to God’s
ways? Or, am I living out a pretentious
facade in the midst of reality?
Help me stay close and connected to You
today as once again I clearly see where I fall short. It’s in my shortcomings that I see a real
need to be saved from cultural and self imposed misconceptions. Especially, within the area of change /
repentance, that doesn’t produce a crushing weight of regret but something that
leads to restoration, reconciliation, and life or salvation from some kind of
death (emotional, relational, or
physical). So, I choose to press on
and work towards wrestling out things with eternal value because I know that
God is just. - Trevor
What would be your life application to this text?