2 Corinthians 6:3-10 (HCSB)
We give no opportunity for stumbling to anyone, so that the ministry will not be blamed. But as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardship, by difficulties, by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the message of truth, by the power of God; through weapons of righteousness on the right hand and the left, through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report; as deceivers yet true; as unknown yet recognized; as dying and look—we live; as being disciplined yet not killed; as grieving yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing yet possessing everything.
Paul is not whining at all in this section. Instead, his words here tie immediately to the preceding section. Paul is so serious about his mission as an ambassador of God’s kingdom, a minister of reconciliation and the transformation that comes through that reconciliation, that he has been willing to do all the things he lists here, to go through all the trials he enumerates.
Paul realizes that he is constantly in the public eye. The Christians are watching him closely to model their lives after his own. The Jews are watching him closely, alert for any slight misstep or hypocrisy they can use to attack his credibility. And even the pagans are watching him closely, trying to understand the message of salvation he is bringing, and how he lives it out.
Understanding this, Paul is careful to always live out his faith fully and blamelessly. He knows that any misstep he might make could well prove to be a stumbling block in someone else’s life.
Paul outlines the troubles and hardships that he has gone through as Jesus’ ambassador, all of which he gets through victoriously thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit. But he also shows here the tools that God has given him to succeed: purity, understanding, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, love, truthful speech, and the power of God and his righteousness.
Even though Paul is closely watched, opposed, slandered, and persecuted, he is confident that his witness and his relationship with God are strong and positive in every way. The way has been anything but easy for him. But in the midst of all he has had to endure, he has been powerful, productive, and victorious because he has not done it in his own strength, but in the power of God’s Spirit.
Father, I’m not sure where we got the idea that if we are in the center of Your will the way will be smooth and easy. I can’t find a single illustration of that in the whole Bible. Instead, we see those who, like Paul, were faithful in spite of the challenges, the trials, the suffering, and who ended up being used mightily to move Your agenda forward. Lord, help me to never follow You in order to have an easy life, which You never promised (John 16:33). Instead, help me to simply be faithful to the calling You have placed on my life, so that You are glorified in and through me every minute of every day. Amen.
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