Daily Devotion for Lent 2021 - Day 28

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 1

Sometimes a disagreement can 
distract us from moving forward.

We can see further conflict between Paul and the church at Corinth as we read between the lines of this letter.  To me, it seems miraculous that any of these letters survived.  It shows that there would have been differences of opinion on Paul within the church itself.  He must have had his proponents or these letters would never have been copied and sent to other churches (and we wouldn't be reading them today).

Paul does address his detractors.  It seems that he was accused of vacillating on being able to visit them in a timely manner.  As we think about travel conditions in that day (and the fact that Paul survived being shipwrecked) combined with his propensity for being put in jail, it was a wonder that he could make it through at all.  

What I'm struck by in this opening chapter of his second letter is the first part of verse 20:

    For in (Christ) every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.”

This is an incredibly positive statement in the face of the aforementioned troubles that Paul had encountered.  It is especially difficult to make when facing detractors.  If one doesn't stay connected in faith to Christ, doubt can creep in and make one second-guess his or her spiritual leadership.

The difficulty with detractors is that they tend to focus on the negative.  If everything is colored by the person's rejection of you, nothing is acceptable because of the initial bias.  It is hard to move forward in a positive manner.  

Yet we see that as we continue in Christ as Paul does, it allows us to maintain relationships and find a way forward together.  As we remind ourselves of the "Yes" we have in Christ, this allows us to see the future can overcome any current crisis or conflict.

As we move forward in Lent, it is important to stay grounded in the life of Christ.  This means that we are open to being in relationship with all people.  At the same time, as we move forward as Paul does, we must be able to move forward in mission regardless of the detractors.

Prayer for the day:

Loving God, give us strength for the day.  Help us to overcome the negative attitudes and remember that in Christ, we have a mission that moves us forward.  May we offer peace to those who are dismissive but at the same time, may we not be paralyzed by them.  We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Photo by Rob D via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.