Dear church,

I remember being in a corn maze one time. These are big fall thrills in places like Kansas – with lots of farmland and not a lot of other things to do. It’s where I grew up!

I was in the corn maze with my daughter and some of her classmates. This was a school field trip to the farm. They’d already watched a cow being milked. The educational part of the trip was over. Now they were having fun.

At one end of the corn maze was a large tower where supervisors gave guidance to children (and adults) who got trapped in the corn maze. Who knows? Someone might have had a panic attack in trying to get out.

So if someone was ready to raise the white flag and proclaim an inability to extract himself or herself from the corn maze, the guy in the tower was there to help. “Go to your right! … Now go left. … No, wrong way. Turn around. … The exit is just around that next turn.”

Sometimes we get into situations we need help getting out of. But where do we go for help?

The apostle Paul said we are living in the “present evil age.” And Paul said Jesus gave himself up for our sins to deliver us from it.

There are two key theological ideas that stood out to me in this opening passage in Galatians. The first is Paul affirmed the notion Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Some Christians dispute this idea (which dates back to the earliest church leaders – because it’s scriptural). Some Christians don’t like the idea of the Son giving up his life in obedience to the Father. Some don’t like the idea of Jesus being our substitute in his death on the cross.

But Paul wrote very clearly, the Lord Jesus Christ “gave himself for our sins.” Jesus died for you and me. Our sins were a big part of the equation. They were the problem. And Jesus paid the price so we wouldn’t have to. He died so we might have life.

The second theological idea that stood out to me is the one of being delivered from this “present evil age.” We must come to terms with the fact this current time in history is evil – as was every time in history after the first sin entered the world. Things don’t go the way we want them to go. People lie to each other. People cheat and steal and kill.

No matter how much we try to say humanity is progressively getting kinder and gentler and more advanced in the arts of love and respect, we all can see this is not true. How many people died in the Holocaust? How many have died during the past 100 years in other unnamed genocides around the world? How many nuclear warheads do we have stored up – just in case?

We’re stuck in a corn maze. How do we escape? Reincarnation doesn’t help us here. Is it better to be stuck in this present evil age as a human, or as a butterfly or an anteater?

But Christ provides a way out. If you read your Bible, you will see there is an age to come – a new creation – where all sin and death and sickness and crying and pain will cease. God has in mind a resurrected life for every person who has faith in Jesus Christ, and that resurrected life will be pure bliss.

This fundamentally diseased age will pass away. A new one is coming. And this is what we look forward to as Christians, and this is what we get a foretaste of through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In this, we can have grace and peace.

Chris

Dear church,

Living with other people can be hard. I have my opinions, and you have yours.

Our family listened to a school board meeting the other night. The leadership was trying to decide when to bring kids back to school in light of the ongoing pandemic.

Of the 22 people who spoke during public comment, every single one of them argued the school district should work harder to get kids back to in-person learning. This went directly against the desires of the superintendent, who wanted to wait. He wanted a “near-zero” COVID count before sending kids back into the buildings.

In the end, the public won. The superintendent lost. A lot of parents were happy. I’m sure the superintendent was not. Such is life in the public realm. Politics bring winners and losers.

Some say the most brutal politics are local politics. That seems kind of hard to believe when we watch the national news. But I think local politics often are more difficult because everything is closer to home and people know each other better. The digs can be a little more personal when you know the person you’re digging. And when the politics are closer to home, the passion can reach a higher pitch – because it affects your town, your neighborhood, or the street you live on.

Yes, it can be hard to live with other people. No one would expect perfect harmony. We all have our opinions after all.

And yet, Paul finished his letter to the church in Corinth with this command: “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace.”

No one expects perfect harmony. But the church is different.

Paul desired the church in Corinth – a prideful and divided and theologically messed up church – to come back together into harmony. He wanted restoration. That is, he wanted the unity to return.

And Paul wanted the believers to comfort each other. He wanted them to seek out their brothers and sisters in Christ who were struggling with some problem – some grief or some gripe – and to show compassion.

And Paul wanted them to agree with one another. I’m sure each had his or her own opinion. I’m sure they were quite wedded to their opinions. And I’m sure they thought the opinions of some of the others were ridiculous. And yet Paul encouraged them, “Agree with one another.”

We must try. This is one of the chief callings of our lives as members of the church – to find a way to agreement with one another. It’s not enough to say I have my opinion and you have yours. It’s not enough to defeat each other in arguments – as if we were winning some battle in local politics. It’s not enough for some people, even people with faulty ideas, to be kicked to the curb and forgotten.

We’re to work with one another in hopes of restoration and comfort. This is how we live in the church. This is how we live in peace.

It’s a higher calling. Are we prepared to answer it?

Chris

Dear church,

Paul had as rich a spiritual life as any of the false teachers in Corinth. It seems likely he was “boasting” in response to the boasting of these teachers. It seems they may have been boasting about their own visions and revelations from God. It may have been their claim to spiritual superiority – the fact they regularly were having supernatural encounters with God.

I think they must have been downgrading Paul, asking, “What kind of spiritual experiences is he having?” Today, we would shake our heads at that question. Paul had met Jesus on the Damascus road, an experience he seemed quite willing to share (Acts 22:6-11; 26:12-20).

But he didn’t share that experience in 2 Corinthians 12. He shared what appears to be an even more intimate experience with God from 14 years earlier. “And he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” Facing questions about his authority as an apostle and, probably, the authentic nature of his spiritual walk with God, Paul boasted about this experience.

Except he didn’t really boast about it. Paul said he would refrain from boasting about this experience “so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.”

That’s a refreshing concept in our culture of competition. Paul said he simply wanted to be judged on what people saw in him and heard from him. That is, he wanted his way of life and his preaching of the gospel to define him – rather than some spiritual experience that was unique to him (and that others might not be able to authenticate).

To keep him from boasting, Paul was given a mysterious thorn. Was this a physical disability – or a spiritual ache? Maybe it was a persistent temptation. Or maybe it was constant persecution. We don’t know. But we do know the result of this “messenger of Satan.”

God left it with Paul, and said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And so Paul rested in God’s grace, and he boasted in his weaknesses.

God has a way of humbling us. He has a way of keeping us honest. Many people experience thorns in their own lives, and they must learn how to deal with them. You might be one of those people.

The lesson for Paul was to rest in God rather than try to compete for prominence among men. Paul was convinced he was nothing in and of himself. If he was of any use to others and to the gospel, it was because of the surpassing grace of God. Rather than take it away, God used a “messenger of Satan” to keep Paul tethered closely to Himself.

I could be wrong, but my guess is that the people who walk closest with God – those who are chosen by him for special work – have thorns. I would assume it’s normal for a person who truly has the gift of prophecy also to have a thorn.

God wants to use his children to share the gospel. God wants to reveal himself to his people, like he did to Moses and Elijah and the Twelve and, yes, Paul. But God doesn’t want his children to be conceited. He wants them humble, like Christ – “I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

Intimate moments with God can make a person want to boast. But God wants us to be humble. Some people are naturally humble. That’s true. But more than that are naturally proud. A proud person may be able to train himself or herself to be humble, but I’m not sure many do.

 So that thorn you have might not be a bad thing. It may cause you to pause before speaking, to love instead of competing, to show compassion instead of judgment.

Chris

Dear church,

This seems like a passage that has two key applications – one for pastors and one for congregations.

Paul was a pastor desperately trying to show his church that he loved them. The false teachers and apostles were disparaging Paul. They seemed to be saying Paul was weak and foolish – and that he didn’t love the Corinthians Christians. After all, if Paul loved the Corinthians Christians, he would have accepted financial help from them. This is what teachers did in those days.

I don’t know why Paul didn’t accept the Corinthians’ money while at the same time he was happy to accept the financial help of others – like the Macedonians. Paul doesn’t explain himself in that area. But he makes clear his love for the church in Corinth.

He seems perturbed the church would fall so easily into the hands of preachers who were teaching “another Jesus” and “a different gospel.” These so-called “super-apostles” came in among the Corinthians Christians boasting of their achievements and spirituality and – if we can read between the lines – were a lot like the prosperity gospel preachers of today and were disguised as “servants of righteousness.”

And Paul wanted to win the Corinthian Christians back to Jesus. It was never a matter of winning them back to himself. He admits to being weak, to being a poor speaker, to being in need. He doesn’t boast in himself. But he sees the Corinthians as people who had been “betrothed” to Christ, and they were looking over their shoulders at other options.

Pastors need to read this text and wonder about their own passion for the congregations they serve. Can we honestly assess the spiritual condition of our churches? Are the people moving closer to Christ or being pulled by any unseen (or seen!) forces away from him? And do we have the desire to plead with the church that it cling more closely to Christ?

Meanwhile, congregations – all of us – need to consider what kinds of teachings we are consuming. Are these things false teachings? Are we listening to false prophets and false apostles and people preaching a different Jesus? And do we have the mental fortitude to put our feet down and call those things as they are – “deceitful workmen”?

Paul was nothing but honest here, and we might think some of his language wouldn’t fly in our culture, which prizes tolerance above all else (sort of). Paul was direct, “Their end will correspond with their deeds.”

Chris

Dear church,

Paul may have been a touch sarcastic. His opponents in Corinth were tearing him down, saying he was a worldly kind of guy. They might have been saying he was a little too ordinary. The new preachers in town, it seems, were pretty bold about showing off their status in the church and maybe showing off their spiritual gifts.

Paul, meanwhile, was accused of being bold in his letters and weak in his physical presence. From a distance, he could really be an imposing teacher. But in person, not so much. At least this is what some people claimed. “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”

Therefore, Paul shouldn’t get a hearing in the church. He was all bark and no bite. This is what they were saying.

And so Paul might have been a little sarcastic in this letter to the Corinthians – a mode of communication where Paul was said to be strong. “I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and humbleness of Christ …”

Letters weren’t Paul’s place of meekness or humbleness – at least according to some. But Christ was meek and humble. Not everything ought to be weighed out by appearances. Something deeper may be going on.

And Paul called on Christ’s meekness and humbleness in arguing there was nothing wrong with any meekness or humbleness the Corinthians may perceive in Paul. He wasn’t in a contest with other preachers. Rather, he was in a contest with any “argument” or “lofty opinion” raised against the gospel.

How often do we judge things in the church by appearances? How often do we judge people in the church by appearances? Is there some other criteria on which we ought to base our judgments?

Paul could simply state if the Corinthians needed evidence of Paul’s authority as an apostle, they simply needed to look around them. Paul was the first to come to them with the gospel. The very existence of the church there was a result of God’s work through Paul’s ministry. “Look at what is before your eyes.”

I wonder if at times we don’t know what we are looking at – be it a person or a circumstance or some blessing of God. I wonder if we think we are seeing something other than what we’re seeing. And Paul said, essentially, “Snap out of it! Look at what is before your eyes. It’s so obvious.”

The humble and meek person can be the purest vessel for gospel of Jesus Christ. The difficult circumstances can contain the surest way to Christian maturity. The unlikely places can hold the richest blessings of God.

As you look around you today, what are you looking at? What’s before your eyes? Have you reinterpreted it into something other than it is?

Can we see the blessings of God when they are right in front of us?

Jesus wasn’t much to look at, it seemed. Good things don’t come from Nazareth (John 1:46). The disciples weren’t much to look at either. They were common men (Acts 4:13). The church in Corinth wasn’t an impressive collection of people. There was little wisdom, power, or nobility in that bunch (1 Corinthians 1:26).

And Paul seemed bold when he was away and weak when he was up close. He may not have been the most impressive of preachers (1 Corinthians 2:1).

And yet, sometimes the reality is obvious. Do we know what is before our eyes?

“Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

Chris

Dear church,

Paul seemed to have been doing a little pre-emptive work to save face – both for him and the Corinthian church. He had been bragging to the Macedonian Christians about the church in Corinth.

He had told the Macedonians that the Corinthians had pledged to make a contribution – perhaps a sizable one – to the collection for the impoverished Christians in Jerusalem. His bragging, in fact, had gotten the Macedonians “stirred up” to make their own contribution. In Chapter 8, he said the Macedonians gave even beyond their means.

Paul wanted to make sure the Corinthians lived up to his boasting about them. So he was sending Titus and some of the other leaders to get things ready. Paul didn’t want to be “humiliated” if some Macedonian Christians were to show up in Corinth and find the church there unprepared to make its contribution. It would be even more humiliating for the Corinthian Christians.

So Paul told them this. He was a very straight-forward apostle, as I’m sure you have noticed. Everything was in the open with him. There were no secrets. “Get ready,” he said. “It won’t look good for either of us if you don’t give as you have promised to give.”

But even more, Paul wanted the church to give willingly. He was putting plenty of pressure on the church, for sure. He was using every bit of rhetorical means he could to convince the Corinthian church to do its part for the global church. But at the same time, he wanted them to give because they wanted to give.

“God loves a cheerful giver.” And then Paul talked about God’s grace “abounding” to the Corinthians. Again, God’s grace is not just a thing that we receive. It is something that also moves believers to live out God’s ways in this fallen world.

God’s grace would abound, and the Corinthian church would have everything that it needed – everything it needed to keep on being generous.

Paul quoted Psalm 112, which is about what it’s like to be a person “who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments” (Psalm 112:1). That person, the psalmist wrote, has an abundance. And that person shares abundantly. “He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever” (Psalm 112:9).

Paul seemed to be saying God blesses his children in order that they may turn and bless others. The “seed” we’re given is for sowing.

Health-and-wealth teachers will falsely say God will make us rich if we give to the church. No, God will give us an abundance so that we can continue to give beyond our means, so that we can continue to shed what we have so that others can have what they need. I don’t think Paul’s idea of being “enriched in every way” went so far as having our own mansions and yachts and fancy cars. God may indeed do that. But that’s not the point. The point is that we give cheerfully out of what he’s given us. We recognize it all is a gift, and we don’t grasp the gift for ourselves. We give it out.

How generous are we willing to be?

The result of all of this is people giving thanks to God. God gives grace to the giver, and the receiver understands it all comes from God. At the end of the day, this generosity results in worship.

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” That gift is Christ.

Chris

Dear church,

As Christians, our lives are rooted in grace.

In his letter to the Ephesian church, the apostle Paul would write two famous sentences – sentences that ought to haunt every Christian every day of our lives and in every activity in which we engage: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The eternal life that we have is the result of the grace of God. It comes as unmerited favor. It comes as uninvited mercy. It is something every Christian has, and we must stop sometimes and wonder that we have it at all. Because we don’t deserve it. We didn’t earn it. There are a million reasons why this gift should not come to us. And there are zero reasons why why it should come to us – except by grace.

I suppose every atrocity or negligent act committed by Christians through the centuries has been the result of the fact Christians sometimes have forgotten about the grace of God. There is nothing inherently righteous about us. We only are righteous because we’ve been given grace.

We will not stand before God on Judgment Day on our own merits. No, we will stand because God enables us to stand by grace. It will be the grace of God that allows us to come near to the throne of God. Grace will prop us up.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” Jesus turned aside from the richness of his eternal divinity in order to become a man – and a poor man at that. And out of that poverty, he enriched everyone around him. This is something that Jesus did of his own accord. No one forced him into it. There was no compulsion.

Grace works like that. You see, we normally understand grace as a thing – as unmerited favor or a definition similar to that one. But the grace of God that Paul writes about operates as more than just a “thing.” It operates as a force that is at work in our lives. Grace is more like an action or a power.

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,” Paul said. And he added, “for they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor (read grace) of taking part in the relief of the saints.”

And Paul continued, “Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you – see that you excel in this act of grace also.”

Grace is something that moves and does. Grace moves into a person’s life and it works in a church to cause poor Christians to beg to give away their money to help their foreign brothers and sisters in Christ, people whom they are never likely to meet. Grace moved the Ruler of all creation to abandon his seat in order to die on a Roman cross for the sake of the world.

Grace is given to move us. It moves us to act against even what seems to be for our own good – the giving up of our resources and the giving up even of our lives.

We respond to grace. A free and undeserved gift causes us to sit up and take notice. Only a darkened soul fails to realize the gift. But that is not the Christian. The Christian receives the gift with gratitude. The gift is grace, and it begins to work in our lives. Whether we are poor like the Macedonians or rich like our Lord Jesus Christ – grace works all the same. It drives us to give.

But there are times, like in the ancient church in Corinth, where we need to be reminded. Even Christians can become forgetful. Even Christians can become slack. We need to be reminded what we have been given, and we need to be reminded who we are. And the apostle Paul was gently reminding the Corinthian Christians to “excel in this act of grace.”

Again, this is why we gather. This is why other Christians must speak into each others’ lives – so we don’t forget. We’ve been given grace. We cannot boast. What we have must be given.

Chris

Dear church,

This is the second time the apostle Paul has made the topic of “comfort” a major theme in this letter to the Corinthian church. God “comforts the downcast.”

For Paul, comfort came from God when he and the apostles found their co-worker Titus, who brought them news from Corinth. The news was good. The Corinthian church had received a tough letter Paul had written them previously. It was a letter that caused them grief. But the grief caused the church to move in the right direction. It was so much so they were beginning, perhaps, to warm to Paul and his message again.

Following the mentions of “comfort” in this chapter is interesting. Paul was comforted by locating Titus. Part of this comfort stemmed from the comfort the Corinthian church provided to Titus. It seems Titus had reason for concern – and the church had reason for concern, too. Its members had met Titus with “fear and trembling.” Again, Paul had written a harsh letter to the church, and the letter “grieved” the church. How would this meeting go between the church and Titus?

As it turned out, the meeting went very well. The church was able to bring comfort to Titus. Things were improving in the church. It was solving a major problem that it had among is members – a problem that we don’t know much about but which Paul had written to them about.

Paul said, “Therefore we are comforted.”

And so following the “comfort” in this chapter is interesting. The church comforted Titus, who comforted Paul. And all of this was superintended by God, who “comforts the downcast.” And we remember this is the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Where do you receive your comfort?

A lot of things can cause us discomfort in life. We can be stressed about certain things – about people in our lives who are struggling, about circumstances in our own lives we can’t fix, about health conditions and finances and world concerns. These can cause discomfort.

We can also face discomfort because of sadness over something that’s been lost in life – a loved one or an ability or some situation that went south – something that can’t really be fixed. So our discomfort can come from anxiety over things we’re worried about or from situations where something dear to us has been lost.

And God “comforts the downcast.”

This made me think about Jacob Marley’s ghost in the story A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge had a late-night encounter with Marley’s ghost, where the ghost said Scrooge would be punished in the after-life for his tight-fisted ways.

This caused Scrooge some discomfort. He implored the ghost, “Speak comfort to me, Jacob!” And the ghost replied, “I have none to give.”

That would be a very dark moment – eagerly desiring some bit of reassurance or hope and simply being told none exists. I suppose that’s what Hell must be like.

But God “comforts the downcast.”

For a Christian, comfort is just a moment away. After all, Paul wrote, “all the promises of God find their Yes in (Christ)” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

And it’s not only that. Even grief is aimed at comfort – that is, “godly grief” ends in comfort. Godly grief produces repentance. It turns us toward God and spurs change in our lives. It leads to “salvation without regret.” Now, that’s a pretty good spot to be – to know we are saved and to not even regret the things we at one time regretted. Salvation covers over a lot of dark spots in our lives.

Chris

Dear church,

We talk sometimes about living in the present, of seizing the moment. Waiting almost always is an option. There will be another day to do the thing we want, or need, to do. Tomorrow is coming.

But we know that procrastination isn’t always the right decision. Some things ought to be done today – right now.

Some of our family the other night was watching a documentary about extreme sports – like people who try to surf the biggest waves in the world. These are waves that could swallow a person up and crush him or her. And yet those extreme surfers keep going out there – to challenge themselves, to experience the thrill, to seek satisfaction. One of those surfers said he had chosen to live his life “now.” Tomorrow, he said, is too late.

The apostle Paul said, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

In the vastness of God’s plan of salvation, the people of Israel – and all the other nations – were in a season of waiting. Israel knew it was waiting. The rest of the nations simply were living, never anticipating what was coming.

God’s plan was in the works. He was watching and waiting himself.

In Christ, the plan was brought to fruition. Salvation came to Israel, and it came (unexpectedly perhaps) to the rest of the nations as well. “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

Salvation suddenly was laid right in front of the world. Faith in Jesus Christ was the way. Grace was the method. There was no boundary, and no need for any more waiting.

And the apostle Paul reminded the church in Corinth, which was struggling through a season with some false teachers in its midst: “We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” The church had heard the good news. There was nothing to do but say “yes.” There was no need to seek out compliance with every aspect of Israelite life. The answer was Jesus. And Jesus is available now.

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Paul didn’t want anyone to wait, to hesitate. He wanted people to grab hold of the salvation that had been offered, to seize the day of eternal life. It is available right now!

And the only thing, it seems, that Paul could do was “commend” himself (and his faith in Jesus Christ) to anyone who would listen or observe. You can read Paul’s list outlining his way of life. It includes endurance, afflictions, great hardships, beatings, riots, sleepless nights, knowledge, patience, the Holy Spirit, and both honor and dishonor.

Paul had chosen to live his life “now.” It was a life of faith and a life devoted to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with anybody and everybody. It was more important than surfing or seeking thrills. In fact, it was a painful life in many ways. But it was full to the brim with HOPE.

Paul wanted his life to be a testimony in itself. It was not a perfect life. But it was a life that was open for anyone to see. There were no secrets. Nothing was held back. “Our heart is wide open.”

Is this the kind of life you are living – or the kind of life you desire to live? Who around you is living like this, staying in the present with Christ because “now is the day of salvation”? If no one is doing it, maybe you should.

Chris

Dear church,

I read today where a professional football player was asked his feelings about COVID-19. The player was unconcerned. He said, “If I die, I die.” That will catch a person’s attention. The player was unafraid of dying.

Of course, the player who offered up that quote is a Christian. And so it’s not so surprising after all. Christians say stuff like that.

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” The apostle Paul said that. It was kind of like he was saying, “If I die, I die.” No big deal. Heaven is better.

But for now, of course, we’re here. Christians also know that this life we’ve been given is a gift. And with this gift, we live as we are designed to live. We please God, and we try to persuade people to be reconciled to God. This is a core part of Paul’s message in 2 Corinthians 5.

Paul called it living with “good courage.”

This kind of living requires faith. Paul said we walk by faith, not by sight. This kind of living also requires we look deeper – past the mere flesh of human existence – into the eternal realities that are unseen.

In this turbulent world, are you living with “good courage”?

Chris