2 Corinthians 7:2-7 (HCSB)
Accept us. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, defrauded no one. I don’t say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live together and to die together. I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions.
In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears inside. But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
Paul’s plea is for complete reconciliation between himself and the Corinthians. Paul understood that there had been some contention between them, some rifts in the relationship, and he wanted all those things to be fixed. Therefore, he was taking the initiative in healing the relationship.
Paul reinforces what he has said before. He has not wronged the Corinthians in any way. He has always had their best interests at heart, and in fact would choose to live or to die with them. So, he wants the opportunity to be reconciled with them.
Paul was deeply disturbed by the news that the Corinthians were angry with him for disciplining them, and for passing them by on his way to Macedonia, all of which he had good justification for. So, he had sent Titus to them to make peace. But Titus’ return had been delayed, so he was still in distress, waiting for him to arrive with news.
But now Titus had returned, and with good news. The seeds of reconciliation had been sown and were already bearing fruit. The Corinthians, it turned out, wanted to be reconciled with Paul as much as Paul wanted to be reconciled with them! And so, his fretting was replaced with joy and anticipation of being well-received when he came to Corinth.
Father, I love how Paul, when he knew that a division had arisen between himself and the Corinthian Christians, did not just write them off or let the hurt he felt control the situation. Instead, he took the initiative and wrote to them, and even sent Titus to try to repair the bridges that had been damaged. This is entirely in keeping with Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:23-24) which commands us to be proactive in restoring our broken or damaged relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. As the body of Christ, divisions between people are illnesses, cancers that must be healed right away or the health of the whole body could not only be compromised, but it could also be destroyed. Help us, Lord, to take the wholeness and health of Your body as seriously as Paul did. Amen.