{Prayer}
As we all already know, today our nation celebrates Independence Day. On this day in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was accepted by the leaders of the 13 original colonies. Through our songs and prayers, we recognize that we are blessed and we give thanks to God for the blessings and freedoms we enjoy as a nation. In light of this holiday and other federal holidays, it is good for us to take the time to consider the virtues which make our nation strong as well as the obstacles which make us weak.
Yes, I said it … our nation, as great as she is, has weaknesses. Saying that may cause some to say I’m unpatriotic and ungrateful … but let’s think of it more this way. There’s a business owner who would not allow his wife or any of his employees to point out any of his shortcomings. He goes to his formal company banquet where he is asked to say a few words. There he stands before a large group of his employees and their spouses. He speaks for 30 minutes with a large piece of lettuce stuck firmly between his two front teeth. Everyone sees it, but none of them had the courage to draw it to his attention. Sometimes the person who points out our weaknesses to us is our most valuable friend.
Our lesson from 2 Corinthians is about weakness, personal weaknesses. We all have them. It doesn’t matter what image we present to the world, it doesn’t matter how much money we have the in the bank, what degree or title we have … we all have weaknesses. The problem is that we live in a prosperous, image-driven society. Nobody puts their weaknesses on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat for everyone to see. We only put our best, most airbrushed images out there. The last thing we want others to see is our flaws, to see those skeletons in our closets.
Some of our weaknesses, their physical, some mental, some are moral. Some weaknesses have to do with work, some with family life, some with relationships, some with our relationship with Christ. Some of us have short tempers while others struggle with depression or anxiety. Some of us are too proud, others give in too quickly. All of us are weak in some area of our life.
St. Paul had his weaknesses too. We don’t know what it was for certain, but Paul mentions this “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). Paul prayed for God to remove this thorn three different times. God’s answer was a gentle “No, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). “My power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, God is saying to Paul, “Hey, trust me. I’ll take care of you. I’ll use your weakness to demonstrate my power.”
We can learn from Paul’s experiences. Paul not only accepted this thorn in the flesh, he boasted about his weakness in order that Christ’s power may rest on him, that he would boast of Christ.
In the midst of painful experiences or situations, we pray for God to fix them. Paul did that more than once. “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me” (12:8). Pleaded, begged, earnestly requested. Paul wanted God to remove it, he wanted it gone, take the problem away, take the pain away! That didn’t seem to be happening though … so what does Paul do … he prays. He gets down on his knees and prays for God to reveal himself. But God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). Paul gave up on his own strength and relied on God. When he did that, he saw the true nature of God, the true nature of Christ. Seeing the true nature of God, Paul’s weakness changed the course of his life.
God’s glory may shimmer in our strengths, but it really shines in our weaknesses. When others see us grow in patience and wisdom, courage and faith, when others see us grow through our heartaches and struggles … that’s when God’s glory shines brightly into the hearts and minds of those around us. By God’s grace, painful experiences or situations help us grow.
You see, we need to remember that our life is not just about you or me. There is more in this life than me, myself, and I, and what I feel I’m obligated to or deserve. Yes, the Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” But as creatures of our almighty Creator, we are to serve him and serve each other. Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (2:10).
Each of us has a greater purpose than our own happiness and comfort. That greater purpose is to bring glory and honor to God, to bring others into a saving relationship with Christ. When people look at you or me, when people look at our character, our choices, our priorities, our actions … they should see the power, truth, love, and wisdom of God. They should be inspired, comforted or challenged because of their contact with you.
Remember, God’s glory may shimmer in our strengths, but He shines, His glory shines in our weaknesses. When we are weak … He is strong.
To get this we need to know the reason Paul is writing about his weakness and the sufficiency of God. He’s writing this to Corinthians because he is combating against these false teachers, these “super-apostles” as he calls them, which had infiltrated the Corinthian church. These false teachers, they are undermining the ministry of Paul and boasting about their own spiritual-help programs. They’re preaching about themselves and how bad Paul is, how he’s a horrible leader and speaker. These “super-apostles” came in, boasting of their promised secret and powerful access to God. They say this divine access would grant the Corinthian people power, success, and glorious superiority over those who follow Paul and his weak Jesus.
In other words, they are not preaching the Jesus which Paul preached about. They are not preaching about a Jesus who gave up all wealth, glory, and honor in order to humble himself, to become weak so that others, so that those who are poor and enslaved to sin so that people like you and me may become rich in God. Paul says it isn’t about me, it’s about Jesus and what Jesus has done. God’s grace is made perfect in his weakness, not in our glorious experiences. Paul could boast, he could easily boast about his accomplishments and his heritage … but he chooses not to. He chooses not to boast about himself but how God has seen fit to call Paul to suffer for the sake of Christ, that is to be weak and foolish in the eyes of the world. Paul boasts in his weakness “so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (12:9)
Paul would have us focus on the grace of God that is found in Jesus. The suffering we experience, it is a far from any indicator that we are without the Spirit of God. Instead, the suffering we experience is an indicator that God is, in fact, at work within us to strengthen our faith. With this thorn, Paul is being taught to rely on Christ in the midst of his suffering. A life of ecstatic spiritual experience or secret access to the heavenly lies will not conform you or me to the image of Christ.
We don’t find God in the glorious riches of this world or in the power of great nations. We find God, we find Jesus in a cold, messy manger. We find Jesus praying to his Father in a garden for his Father to remove the cup of pain and suffering from him. We find Jesus surrounded by sinners, by unbelievers, by violent enemies. We find Jesus thirsty and bloody, stuck by thorns, dying on a cross. The God whose power is made perfect in our weakness is the God who, in utter weakness, saves you from your sins, who saves you from death and the devil. To be sure, Jesus rises from the tomb where his lifeless corpse laid … but such a resurrection comes only through the horrific cross upon he once hung.
For the one who is baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus, for the one who believes in Jesus as their Savior, glory will come. The resurrection of our bodies, the redeeming of these bodies and glory of God will come. Heaven will descend to earth. But it only will after we have suffered here in weakness where Christ’s grace is sufficient for us. When we are weak … He is strong. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.
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