2 Corinthians 1:12-14 (NIV)
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity w and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Paul has suffered many attacks over the years. The physical attacks were painful at times, debilitating at others, and very frustrating. But it was the attacks on his work and his character the were the hardest for him to bear.
But every time Paul was attacked, he checked his own mind and heart to find out if the attack had any factual basis. And on the basis of his own self investigation, he had found that he was categorically NOT guilty of the errors and lapses of which he had been accused by his enemies and by the “super apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5-6). He had acted with love, care and genuine holiness in every interaction with the Corinthians.
Paul also noted that when he wrote to them, the Corinthians didn’t have to “interpret” his words to find the hidden meaning in them. They had asked real questions, and he had given them real answers, written not in some mystical language, but written as clearly as their questions had been.
Paul knew that to some in Corinth, he was this mystical, almost mythical figure that many had never met in person. They had heard other people testify about his life and ministry, and they had listened as his letters were read to the congregation.
But Paul did not want to be held at arm’s length. He wanted to not only fully know the Corinthian brothers and sisters, but to be just as fully known by them when he came to visit. That would be accomplished in part by the elements of his personal faith and history that he is including in this letter, as well as by the open heart that his readers will experience when he arrives soon.
Father, Paul is still an almost mythical figure to many in the Church today. It is hard for us to invest him in our minds with kind and gentle qualities. Instead, we see him as this cold, logical theologian who comes from your presence to deliver your commands and instruction, rather like Moses. But the reality, as painted not only in the book of Acts, but throughout his warm letters, is that he was a caring and loving person, loved by those in the Church who knew him, self-sacrificing to a fault, and only what some might call harsh when driven to it by need or by evil trying to invade the Church. Help us to knowing him better, so that we can read his words and understand both them and You more fully. Amen.