My Morning Meal

As I read 2Corinthians 8 this morning it occurs to me how often I misuse the word “grace.” For example I’m late to meet my buddy for coffee on Friday mornings (which I do way too often) . . . and I say, “Sorry” . . . and he says, “No sweat” . . . and I say, “You’re so gracious.” Or, I goof up on something (won’t say how often that happens) . . . and feel bad about it . . . and try to make up for it somehow . . . and the person who was counting on me says, “Don’t worry about it” . . . and I say, “Thanx for showing grace”. But I’m reminded as I read this morning that grace is not the withholding of that which is due. Rather, it is the giving . . . the generous giving . . . the giving beyond ability . . . of that which has not been earned. Paul refers to it three times in this passage as “this act of grace” (8:6, 7, 19)

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.    
(2Corinthians 8:7 ESV)

Specifically, “this act of grace” referred to by Paul was the taking up of a collection for the Christians in Jerusalem. It cost believers to be believers in Jerusalem. You can imagine the price they paid by embracing Jesus as Messiah in a culture that, by and large, had rejected Jesus as being God’s Anointed. You can imagine it was hard to find work . . . that family would have withdrawn support . . . and so Paul was determined, when he went to Jerusalem, to go with a gift to aid these impoverished saints. And just as the Gentile churches of Macedonia had determined to provide such a gift, Paul wanted the believers at Corinth to also engage in “this act of grace.”

So, some principles in this passage about “this act of grace” that I think illustrate the dynamics of grace. First, it was not a withholding but a giving. Grace was manifest as a “wealth of generosity” . . . as not giving “according to their means”, but “beyond their means of their own accord” (8:2b, 3). Whether it’s cash or compassion, grace involves the outpouring of that which we have to those who haven’t earned it . . . and maybe, we might think, don’t even deserve it.

Also, “this act of grace” is sourced in the giving of ourselves first to the Lord (8.5). Seems there’s a correlation between the degree to which we “grace to others” and the degree to which we have first given ourselves fully and faithfully to the Lord . . . the degree to which we have first presented our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1). When we’ve given it all to Him first, then giving it to others, whether that’s money or moral support, should come more naturally as we give what’s already God’s to those to whom God directs us to give it.

And, for Paul, grace was the proof “that your love also is genuine” (8:8). There’s something authenticating about seeing grace in action. Unmerited generosity toward others is some of the fruit borne by those who have been re-wired for agape love by the renewing of the Spirit. “This act of grace” is the evidence of having entered into “the real thing” . . . as James says, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:15-17). Again, it goes beyond just opening our pocket books . . . sometimes it opening our hearts . . . speaking a word of comfort or encouragement to, or drawing alongside, those who have gotten themselves into a tough situation.

Finally, “this act of grace” is sourced in another act of grace . . .

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.    (2Corinthians 8:9 ESV)

To think of the King of glory becoming the Lamb of God. To pause for moment and reflect on the spotless Son of God becoming sin for us. To imagine the One who deserves our crowns cast before Him instead hanging on a tree, receiving the curse we deserved poured out upon Him. thank You Father that we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .

By His poverty I have become rich. How can I not then seek to imitate by Savior? How then, can I not be pre-disposed to giving freely . . . of whatever material wealth He has graced me with . . . of the time He has freely allotted to me . . . of the compassion and love He as wrought in my heart through the generous outpouring of His Spirit.

Oh, that I might be a participator in this act of grace . . . for the glory of God. Amen?

Truth is, give me the choice between happy and sad . . . I’ll take happy every time. Don’t care much for sorrow. Just as soon avoid heartache. Even less a fan of unease that’s caused by someone calling me out on something . . . although I know I should welcome “constructive feedback”, really don’t like it when it hits home and churns me up inside. But as I read 2Corinthians 7 this morning, I’m reminded there’s a place for . . . and blessing associated with . . . what Paul refers to as “godly grief”.

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you . . .    (2Corinthians 7:9-11a ESV)

Paul had grieved those at the church in Corinth with a letter he had written . . . having said some tough stuff that needed saying. If the letter Paul’s referring to here is 1Corinthians, perhaps what brought them sorrow was Paul’s strong rebuke concerning tolerating sin in their midst . . . or allowing congregational politics to fracture their fellowship . . . or their trigger-finger in being willing to go to court in order to settle disputes among them . . . or their disregard for the Lord’s table. Whatever the matter was it had brought grief and sorrow to the believers at Corinth. But, says Paul, it was a productive sorrow . . . a sadness that led to repentance . . . a heartache which led to revived earnestness for the kingdom . . . a godly grief.

And I’m reminded that sometimes, though I don’t welcome it or like going through it, being made sorrowful or suffering grief can be used of God as part of His sanctification toolkit. In this case, it’s not sadness borne of misfortune . . . it’s not sorrow due to what someone else is going through . . . but it’s grief which comes from being confronted with, or made aware of, sin in my life. I don’t like even typing that . . . sin in my life. But sometimes God will open the door on rooms I’ve got locked up . . . sometime He’ll cause me to peek under the carpet where I’ve swept some dirt . . . sometimes he’ll send a friend to shed light on something I’ve hidden . . . and in those times it causes grief. The soul is downcast . . . the gut is in knots . . . the chest is heavy . . . not a place I like being.

But it can be a productive place. It can be a barren feeling that produces fruit of righteousness. It can be sadness that results in joy when this sort of grief leads to repentance.

There’s a sorrow that can lead to a change of mind resulting in a change of life. It’s not a sorrow that destroys but a sorrow that saves . . . not that the believer needs to be re-saved . . . but saved in the sense of deliverance from the bondage of some sin which has tripped up, or gotten a grip, on the child of God.

It’s not a grief which results in shrinking away hopeless despair, but grief that compels us toward the holy throne of God . . . enlisting the One who ever lives to make intercession for us . . . confessing our wrong-doing . . . asking for forgiveness . . . based not on our worthiness, but solely because of the finished work of Christ on the cross . . . knowing that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). And there, at the throne, grief gives way to gratefulness . . . sorrow gives way to joy . . . sadness is swallowed up by grace.

Nope . . . don’t like sorrow. But when it’s sadness caused by the inner voice of the Spirit, or a brother or sister led by the Spirit, shedding light on an area that needs to be called out, might I know, by God’s grace, that godly grief . . . that leads to repentance . . . that produces an earnestness for the things of God . . . that results in a walk that pleases Him . . . for His glory.

Hovering this morning over a couple of verses in 2Corinthians. Paul’s been sharing his heart with his “children in Christ.” There are those who have been trying to drive a wedge between the apostle and the church which God had established through Paul’s ministry. And so Paul contends for them. When they ask for a letter of reference, Paul responds, “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation . . . you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God . . . on tablets of human hearts” (3:2-3). And he goes on to remind them of the nature of his ministry toward them . . . that of being jars of clay . . . carrying the treasure of the light of the gospel . . . the gospel of the glory of Christ . . . the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (4:4-7).

He points out that being jars of clay “ain’t no picnic.” That to be a faithful “transport” of the good news, jars of clay need to be broken so that the light they contain can shine out. And so, Paul admits, “we are afflicted . . . perplexed . . . persecuted . . . struck down . . . always carrying in the body the death of Jesus” (4:7-10). Paul took it in the teeth in order to bear the good news to a people in desperate need of good news. His “outer self” was wasting away (4:16) . . . so much so that there were those who thought Paul and his buddies were out of their minds . . . that they were beside themselves (5:13). They couldn’t figure out what so drove Paul to endure such hardship . . . to continue to press forward against increasing forces of opposition . . . why he put himself through so much. Paul’s answer was pretty simple . . .

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that One has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.    (2Corinthians 5:14-15 ESV)

Paul, at the most basic of levels, was controlled by the love of Christ. The NIV and NKJV say he was “compelled” . . .the old King James says he was “constrained” . . . literally, his energies were “compressed forcibly into one channel”.

Meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus . . . encountering the risen Christ . . . comprehending the price paid by God’s own Son for Paul’s many transgressions . . . knowing forgiveness for sin, though once an enemy of God . . . it all provided for Paul a whole new context for doing life. He wasn’t just saved from wrath . . . Paul’s spiritual DNA was re-wired . . . he became “under the influence” . . . no longer desiring to live for himself, he instead sought only to live for the One who had died for him . . . the One who was now risen . . . and the One now ascended . . . the One now making intercession at the right hand of the throne of God . . . the One who, very soon, was coming again for His own.

The gospel wasn’t a one time message to respond to by “asking Jesus into his heart” . . . the good news of the grace of God became a life changing, and a life channeling, experience. With every new day there were new reminders of the faithfulness and mercies of God. With every temptation . . . every errant thought . . . every misaligned action there was the reminder heaven’s best being sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin . . . a fresh appreciation for the blood of Christ which cleanses from every sin. With every heavenly thought . . . every experience of revelation as the word of God was understood . . . Paul was reminded of the deposit given as a guarantee of his future redemption, the living Holy Spirit of God . . . comforting him . . . corralling him . . . conforming him into the image of the blessed Son of God. The love of God was ever before him . . . and thus it controlled him. The grace of God had become his sustaining power . . . and thus it constrained him. The risen Son would commune with him . . . and thus it compelled him.

Oh, that the desire to live for self would decrease as my appreciation for the eternal wonder of the gospel increases. That I might be so controlled by the love of Christ . . . by His grace . . . for His glory . . .

So . . . most often when I think about heaven, I think in terms of lightening the load. The burden of dealing with this fallen world, and the fallen men who shake their fists at God, will be removed (well, actually I’ll be removed). I’ll be loosed of the on-going struggle with the old-man . . . and the battle with an aging body. Even gravity will give way to soaring. I think of heaven and I think light . . . as in, not heavy. But I came across a phrase this morning in 2Corinthians that has me re-thinking this a bit . . .

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.   (2Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)

There it is . . . embedded within verse 17 . . . “an eternal weight of glory” . . . Chew on that.

If anyone knew the oppressive load of doing life “under the sun” it was Paul. In fact, that’s what he says . . . “afflicted, but not crushed . . . perplexed, but not in despair . . . persecuted, but not forsaken . . . struck down, but not destroyed” (4:4-9). But Paul could also say, “We do not lose heart.” By God’s grace, and the focusing ministry of the Spirit, Paul could look beyond “the transient” and to the “the eternal” . . . with the eye of faith his gaze transcended “the things that are seen” and instead, gazed upon “the things that are unseen.”

And when he looked beyond the “here and now” and to the “there and then” he saw a great weight . . . an eternal weight . . . a weight of glory that made the troubles of the day seem like “slight momentary afflictions”.

Hmmm . . . think about it. The trials and tribulations of this life are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison. Our losses here are being factored into great gain there. Whatever weight we feel we’re carrying today will pale in comparison to the massive amount of glory we’ll inherit in that day when faith gives way to sight and we’ll be in that place the Lord is even now preparing for us.

Not that the promised weight of glory changes the reality of our struggles today . . . but it does put them into context. The weight of glory that awaits us is beyond comparing with the weight of gutting out life that is in front of us. It’s a rout . . . no contest . . . not even on the same page. The measure, the excellence, the superiority of what awaits those who trust in the finished work of Christ is so far beyond the burden of the day.

And so, Paul says, we do not lose heart. We look beyond the temporal and peer into the eternal. Though the outer man is taking a beating and losing steam, the inner man is being renewed day by day . . . as we look toward THAT DAY . . . and an eternal weight of glory.

Oh, that by the grace of God and the mind-renewing work of the Spirit, I would not lose focus on the “heaviness” of heaven . . . that the weight of my day to day struggles would constantly be compared with the beyond measure load of glory that awaits me . . . that things that are unseen would constantly be on my radar . . . that I would not lose heart . . .

For His glory . . . amen.

According to one source, there’s over 23,000 verses in the Bible . . . almost 8,000 verses in the New Testament . . . 437 of those NT verses are in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians . . . and this guy is mentioned by name in three of those verses. Just three times is his name mentioned . . . but his legacy, and I’m thinking his impact, are eternal. He and his family were among the first to be saved in the region through Paul’s ministry (16:15) . . . he and his family were of the very few actually baptized in Corinth by the apostle himself (1:16) . . . he was one of three men who Paul says “refreshed my spirit” and of whom Paul commands, “Give recognition to such people” (16:18) . . . his name is Stephanas, literally “crowned” . . . and what grabs me about him this morning, is that he was in the family business.

Now I urge you, brothers — you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints . . .    (1Corinthians 16:15 ESV)

So often I can just blow past the closing verses of Paul’s letters . . . just gloss over what appear to be like “p.s.’s” . . . skim over what is also God-breathed and given for my teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness (2Tim. 3:16). But this morning, I didn’t . . . thank You, Holy Spirit . . . and Stephanas became more than a post-script . . . he became an inspiration.

Again, don’t know a lot about the guy . . . but what I do know is that he and his household had “devoted themselves to the service of the saints.” I love the old King James translation . . . “they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.” They were hooked on serving God’s people. They were pre-disposed, appointed, determined, fixed on ministering to the sheep of Jesus’ fold . . . the pilgrims on the heavenly pathway . . . the priests in the King’s kingdom . . . the bride of Christ . . . God’s special treasure and possession. Stephanas and his family devoted themselves to serving the family of God. It was a family business focused on “Family” business.

And I can’t help but think that all God’s people need to be focused on family business. Each of us has been graced with a spiritual gift for the building up of the bride of the Lamb. Each of us, as a living stone, has been placed, as God has determined, within the structure of the living temple of God that we might support one another and, being joined together, might grow into a holy temple in the LORD, with each other to be a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Each of us has been a wired in as a member, a body part, within the body of Christ . . . given a specific function and role, so that when each part is working properly the body grows and builds itself up in love. This spiritual dynamic becomes a reality when God’s people are addicted to serving God’s people.

Sure the level of focus will differ according to God’s calling . . . the service toward the saints will have different flavors . . . but, to some degree, I’m wondering if the heart of Stephanas and his family isn’t needed more within our gatherings. Way too easy to book in on Sunday at 10:45 a.m. and then clock out at 12:15 p.m. (12:30 if I have an extra cookie) . . . thinking that somehow I’ve done my “body time” for the week. Rather, shouldn’t we come together on Sunday with a purpose in mind . . . something beyond getting, but about ministering to fellow saints . . . something above being built up in my faith, but also looking for opportunity to encourage a brother or sister in theirs? And shouldn’t I be about family business beyond Sunday mornings? Shouldn’t I be developing relationships . . . looking for opportunities to lend a hand . . . staying in touch with . . . getting together to encourage . . . serving the saints of God beyond the Sunday service and engaged as well in Monday through Saturday service?

Isn’t it a worthy ambition to be a bit more like Stephanas and his family . . . and to be more purposeful about engaging in family business?

I’m thinkin’ . . .