Paul, Paul, Paul...
"...a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been captive by him to do his will."
Boy, I wish I could have quoted this verse to my siblings growing up! I don't get Paul sometimes. He tells us to deal with people gently and patiently, then gives us permission to condemn those in opposition to us. How in the world does this work? Has he never tried to deal with someone in opposition to him? (I know he did...maybe people of opposition in his day weren't as tenacious as they are today?) How does one patiently and gently tell someone that they are indeed working for the devil?
Yeah, I don't get this passage. Sometimes I am pretty sure Paul was single (was he?). His wife would have never let him get away with such a method. There is perhaps the slight (okay, big) possibility that I am not fully understanding the context here. I'm pretty sure that God wouldn't have placed this in Scripture for the sheer pleasure of a sister who liked to say, "I told you so!" I'm sure the meaning runs much deeper.
So, I'll pray that Paul's words become God's words to my heart. Somehow it's easier to digest objectionable portions of Scripture when they come from God himself instead of Paul (whom I can get sick of hearing from if I consider much of the NT written by him). Yes, Scripture itself says that all of it is from God. I must remind myself of that and pray that God will teach me through it for the purpose of furthering His kingdom.
God, thanks for messengers like Paul. Thanks for using him to spread the gospel from the start. Thanks for using people like me today. It's amazing to think of you using such imperfect people to share a flawless and beautiful story. That's the beauty of it, I guess. Thanks for being a God who makes dirty rags and ashes something of beauty. Change my heart, that I would filter everything I encounter today through your heart instead of my own. May I grow to know you more today...that is my strongest desire.
Amen.
2 Timothy 2:24-26
Boy, I wish I could have quoted this verse to my siblings growing up! I don't get Paul sometimes. He tells us to deal with people gently and patiently, then gives us permission to condemn those in opposition to us. How in the world does this work? Has he never tried to deal with someone in opposition to him? (I know he did...maybe people of opposition in his day weren't as tenacious as they are today?) How does one patiently and gently tell someone that they are indeed working for the devil?
Yeah, I don't get this passage. Sometimes I am pretty sure Paul was single (was he?). His wife would have never let him get away with such a method. There is perhaps the slight (okay, big) possibility that I am not fully understanding the context here. I'm pretty sure that God wouldn't have placed this in Scripture for the sheer pleasure of a sister who liked to say, "I told you so!" I'm sure the meaning runs much deeper.
So, I'll pray that Paul's words become God's words to my heart. Somehow it's easier to digest objectionable portions of Scripture when they come from God himself instead of Paul (whom I can get sick of hearing from if I consider much of the NT written by him). Yes, Scripture itself says that all of it is from God. I must remind myself of that and pray that God will teach me through it for the purpose of furthering His kingdom.
God, thanks for messengers like Paul. Thanks for using him to spread the gospel from the start. Thanks for using people like me today. It's amazing to think of you using such imperfect people to share a flawless and beautiful story. That's the beauty of it, I guess. Thanks for being a God who makes dirty rags and ashes something of beauty. Change my heart, that I would filter everything I encounter today through your heart instead of my own. May I grow to know you more today...that is my strongest desire.
Amen.
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