Wednesday, November 19, 2008
II Corinthians 12:10
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
The lives of all humankind encompass “the whole ball of wax”. One of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies is, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. The plot is very simple but the title is facinating. One of the distortions within the church is to believe that a good God only blesses us with the good times, at least we desire or possibly even expect the good life. The Apostle Paul could not share in these sentiments because daily he was dealing with the good, the bad and the ugly struggles of life, the weak things.
Paul was instrumental in the birth of the mission to the gentile world following the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thrust into this difficult circumstance by a God who surely should have tagged someone more qualified, Paul believed that all of life, the varied events of life, are somehow meshed together by the presence of the Christ. God somehow works his will by stirring the pot with a variety of circumstances,including, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
On a personal level, he seemed to be “well content” with his weakness. Grumbling is the normal reaction of each of us in the face of such circumstances as Paul notes. Isn’t this the normal pathos of every dying culture know to man? We grumble as we fight the unbeatable foe.
Paul, accepting the reality of his weaknesses, was able to move on because they were burdens shared by the Christ. Jesus was accepting of all the hate, ridicule, torture and eventual death without grumbling. Somehow his weaknesses fit in the plan. It is a cowardly expectation that assumes because Jesus suffered such indignities, we are free to live in comfort.
This was not the conclusion reached by St. Paul. Through his sufferings a strength for life was given to him by the Christ. Paul was boasting in the midst of his weaknesses. Risen Lord, please give us this kind of courage!
G.Goslaw
