The Weakness I Have

4/11/2016

2 Corinthians 11.30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. – St. Paul

Trying to change people’s minds is a difficult thing. Trying to get people to see one’s point of view is a difficult thing. That’s why the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is so vital to our faith, and in our walk. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.

The letters to the Church in Corinth tell a story of a man trying to change the minds of people and trying to get them to see his point of view. The Corinthians, much like the Jews, seemed to want some convincing proof of Paul and his claims of Jesus and faith in Him. The Church in Corinth seemed to have bought into some of it, but not all; it seemed they wanted powerful proof of the life Paul was proclaiming, and, they wanted some solid credentials of who Paul really was.

So, Paul said: If I must boast [about who I am] I will boast of the things that show my weakness. Pretty strange statement from someone who was being hounded for something more. Strangely, the boasts Paul made were about the things he experienced while proclaiming the Gospel; and it’s a pretty extensive list.

Paul, however, wasn’t proud of any of those things: he was only proud in a humble and persecuted way, that Jesus had chosen him to tell others about Him, and to do so through extreme difficulties and resistance. The student isn’t above his Master…

If nothing else, life in the Church and the Kingdom of God are unconventional. The greatest are those who serve. The humble are the blessed. It is better to give than to receive. Faith is for those who accept it as a child. The greatest pray-ers are those who pray in secret. The greatest givers are those who do so in secret and with their whole heart. Perseverance is a hallmark of the faithful.

And the world hates such a way of thinking and living. The Corinthians were only in it so far, and they questioned Paul’s methods for going all the way. The Church today is no different. There are those who commit and then there are those who just show up because they think it’s the thing to do. We might say of Paul: you don’t have to be crazy to be an evangelist and church planter, but it helps. Paul would respond: you don’t know what it means to serve.

Paul insisted: I only boast about my weakness because it shows the greatness of Christ to see me through the difficulties of life, and the devilish resistance to truth in the world. If we want to serve and to preach and to help others know and grow in Him, we’d better get used to the idea that it will be difficult at best and only accomplished by the power and presence of His Spirit. The Kingdom is no place for sissies.

Father, from this little sentence I see what I am called to: to serve and to proclaim the glorious Gospel despite the pushback from a world that wants nothing to do with it. That calls for walking in, and walking with Your Spirit, who illumines my mind and empowers my tongue and my faith. Fill me with Your Spirit today to spread the good news, boasting only in the weakness I have that reveals the strength that is Yours – Amen.