Make room for us in you hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one; we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our trouble my joy knows no bounds.
For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn - conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.
Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it - I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while - yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this we are encouraged.
In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.
As usual we'll go section by section. The first is after Paul tells the Corinthians to make room in their hearts for Paul and his followers. He tells them that he and his followers have not wronged, corrupted, or exploited anyone. He follows by saying that he didn't mention it to shame them for the times they had, but to make his statement seem all the better: That the Corinthians have places in their hearts and that he and his followers would live or die with all of them. In the same way, we should not only Love on other people, but make places in our hearts for them. The greatest service a man can commit is to lay down his life for someone. Are we willing to do that for others? We should be, but I know that I don't show that in my daily life. I don't always sacrifice the time and money I can for others. And this is wrong. Paul had it right here. He had Joy in the Corinthians even thought they were one of the most sexually immoral people of the time. He wrote in 1 Corinthians that even the ungodly peoples around them looked at the Corinthian's practices with contempt. But Paul sent the letter with a man named Titus to them to turn them away from it. Paul writes about Titus' return and what had been happening in the next section.
Paul tells the Corinthians of the pain he and his followers were experiencing in Macedonia from the harassment and fears they were under. They were downcast and discouraged because of how much opposition the Gospel received. This is a feeling I can be empathetic with. I have experienced the same discouragement and pain when trying to share with people now where I live. Very few are willing to receive the words of God. But just when we feel downcast, God can bring comfort and encouragement. For Paul, it was Titus coming with good news about the Corinthians.
Titus told Paul of how his letter had hurt the Corinthians and brought them sorrow. But this was only at first. This sorrow had come from the letter that God had written through Paul for His own plans. The Corinthians were turned in this sorrow toward God in repentance. They experienced the sorrow that Paul described as Godly sorrow. Paul added that worldly sorrow brings death. This meaning that when people feel sorrow, they turn to the world to find relief, but all this does is lead people to do more sins that they end up feeling more sorrow from like alcohol and drugs and sexual encounters that only be described as wrong. This I would call the simplified cycle of death. But Godly sorrow causes us to go to God for relief from our pain by the means of of Loving Son, Jesus Christ. Brings us earnestness and eagerness to be cleared of our sins. It brings indignation and alarm at what we have been doing when we could have done so much more good. It brings a longing for God, and a concern that if we stay where we are, we will not have Him. It also brings a desire for Justice that we do what He wants us to do with our lives.
This is what the words of the letter God had written through Paul accomplished among all the Corinthians. This is why we must not stop speaking the words of God no matter how discouraged we get. because they will reach the people who need them most. Whether it's to bring them to repentance, or to bring them to God in their troubles. The words of God brought in hand by Titus brought the Corinthians to repent and live better for God. The news the Titus brought back to Paul brought Paul and his followers Joy and encouragement. Even Titus was brought Joy and happiness by the Corinthians when they turned to God so quickly, for the greatest Joy in this world is to see someone repent for their wrongs, go to God for grace, and then freely receive it from Him for the rest of their lives. There is none greater.
God used sorrows and words to do what He wanted to accomplish among Paul, his followers, and the Corinthians. He brought encouragement to Paul just when He needed it, and had the Corinthians repent for their sins. God can use anything for His will. But what does that mean for us now? It means, that we do not understand what is really happening when life does not go the way we want it to. But God has a plan for us and will use everything around us for His glory. This post was written completely differently this morning, but after everything that has happened today and how I saw God working, it needed to be changed. It much better than the other one too. God is able to use anything for His will. With this case, He used the Corinthian's sorrows to bring redemption and Joy to many people. What about your case and mine? We need to wait and see. Looking at the past is easy, seeing the future is impossible. Be patient and wait for God to do what He will. He might just take your sorrows and turn them to Joys.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
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