I heard C.J. Mahaney (the pastor that wrote ¨The Cross Centered Life¨) talking about 2 Corinthians. He said it is Pauls most passionate letter, and is filled with self-disclosure, unlike any of his other letters.
So I am reading through 2 Corinthians again, and it is amazing to me the grace that Paul showed to the Corinthians. Mahaney was right when he said that Paul was more focused on the grace that was available to and working in the Corinth church than their sin. Paul loved them very much, and that is very easy to see.
Maybe the reason Paul had so much love and grace in his own life is because his focus was on God´s grace, and not on his own sin. His focus was outward and not inward. Paul did not judge himself. Paul moved forward, and held fast to the Gospel. He did not forget about Christ´s death on the cross, but instead that was at the center of his heart and life. If it had not been, his love and joy and peace would have faded, but it didn´t, because his focus was on God´s grace through Jesus Christ, and that filled Paul with love and grace that he spent his life showing to others.
Monday, June 1, 2009
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1 comment:
At Celebrate Recovery, pastor Tom talk about guilt and shame. Guilt is there to tell us we are doing something wrong. Shame tells us "we are wrong." We are wrong in the sense of worthless...we are a mistake...that type of thing. Guilt is there to change behavior. Shame is there to destroy us. Guilt is healthy and shame is not. Paul completely accepted God mercy and grace and he focused on that (or so I believe). I think that is why he could show others mercy and grace. I think we treat others the same way we treat ourselves. If we are hard on ourselves, we are hard on others. If we live in God's mercy and grace, we treat others that way. That's my two cents worth...ha.
Anyway, nice post. It will give me something to think about today. I like this post.
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