"Measuring Our Lives" October 22 Readings: 2 Corinthians 6-7

Today's Reading - 2 Corinthians 6-7

Background

These two chapters are an appeal to the church at Corinth to leave behind their wayward strayings and walk in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. He warns them against yoking themselves in partnership with wicked people and instead appeals to them to open their hearts to Paul. 

Devotional - Measuring Our Lives

Has my ministry been successful? Is our church doing well? Our world has certain standards that it judges by and the Christian world has baptized those standards and adopted them. We have turned success into a formulaic thing.- how many people, how many buildings, how big is the budget?

Paul had some strange ideas about success. Yes, at times he saw big numbers come to Christ in his ministry, but at other times he saw suffering, imprisonment, rejection and betrayal. When he defended his ministry he did not trumpet his numeric successes or his other measurable results. From this point on in this book he defends his ministry but it is in the strangest of terms. Look at 6:4-10. How does he commend himself? 

• He defended himself by appealing to his hardships and calamities in the work of Christ. It's about endurance in suffering, not numbers and earthly success. 
• He defended himself by appealing to the display of the Spirit's power through him. We do not know exactly what form that took, but God was at work and people knew that the things happening could only happen through the power than came from on high. 
• He defended himself by appealing to the fruit of the Spirit evident in his ministry - purity, patience, kindness and other such character qualities. 

There are several others that could be mentioned, but the point is that Paul judged things differently than we do. He did not measure himself in ways that could be codified in numbers. He used spiritual qualities and character traits. We are measured not by anything human beings can quantify, but by our obedience, our endurance, our faithfulness to God, and our spiritual passion.

Father, may I become a man like Paul who lives in obedience to you and measures my life by your standards. 

Think and Pray

How do you measure your life? Your success or failure?