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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
October 13
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Today's Pathway:
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In today's passage Paul gives a second reason why he changed his travel plans to Corinth. He says in verse 1 that he came to the conclusion that he did not want to visit them "in heaviness" again. Paul has already been to Corinth twice. We know this because he writes in II Corinthians 12:14,
"Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you".
The first time is recorded for us in Acts 18 when he founded the church there. The second visit is not specifically mentioned in the Scriptures, but apparently it was not a pleasant occasion. So, his second visit was a difficult one, and we know that I Corinthians was probably a difficult letter for him to write. Some believe that there may also have been an additional letter written to the Corinthians between I and II Corinthians which was also filled with reprimands (II Corinthians 2:4). Because of all of this, Paul does not want to go there and deal with them from a negative standpoint again.
He writes in verse 2 that if his visit makes them sorrowful because of all the corrections he has to make, then he will not receive any joy from being there. Paul wants to have blessed fellowship with the church. He wants to be an encouragement to them, and receive encouragement back from them. He says in verse 3 that he ought to be able to rejoice when he spends time with them, but instead he is going to receive sorrow from them. There is a lesson to be learned here. God wants his children to be a blessing to each other. All Christians ought to be living and believing in such a way that the other believers around them are encouraged. Unfortunately, sometimes this is not the case. When believers don't do what is right, their sinfulness or apathy becomes a discouragement to others rather than a blessing. Just like a parent does not enjoy constantly reprimanding his or her children, it is certainly not a joy for a pastor, evangelist, or teacher to have to continually admonish the members of the congregation for not doing what they should be doing. Psalm 122:1 reads,
"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
However, it isn't nearly as enjoyable for anyone to go to the house of God when there are problems there. John wrote,
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (III John 1:4).
But when people aren't walking in truth it is difficult for others to rejoice. We all need to be doing what is right, not simply for our own sakes, but for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
In verse 3-4 Paul explains the letter that he has written previously. The letter he is talking about may be I Corinthians, or it may be an unknown letter written between the two inspired epistles. Whichever it is, Paul had written it to them in hopes that they would be sorrowful for their sin and repent and change before he arrived so that he could rejoice with them. While it is true that Paul did not desire to bring grief to the Corinthians, it is also true that he had an obligation to tell them what they needed to hear, even if they didn't want to hear it. He did not shirk his responsibilities as an apostle simply to spare their feelings. But, according to verse 4, he wrote out of a heart of love for them. Paul finds no pleasure in rebuking the church. He does it because he loves them and wants to see them be in a right relationship with God. The benefit that he receives is that once they repent they will once again bring joy to him. He has confidence that much of the church membership desires to bring him joy (having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all), and so he hopes that they will do what he has instructed them to do.
We will discuss this further tomorrow.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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