10 Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. ² Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives.

³ We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. ⁴ We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. ⁵ We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. ⁶ And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.

⁷ Look at the obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. ⁸ I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority.

⁹ I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters. ¹⁰ For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” ¹¹ Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away.

¹² Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!

¹³ We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. ¹⁴ We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.

¹⁵ Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. ¹⁶ Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. ¹⁷ As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

¹⁸ When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

2 Corinthians 10

Dear God, I don’t spend too much time just reading Paul’s letters. I wonder why that is. Maybe it’s because he can seem a bit long-winded and, simultaneously, difficult to understand. Today’s passage started with the verses of the Day from Bible Gateway, which were the last two (verses 17 and 18). But I couldn’t get the context of them without going to the beginning of the chapter.

So this chapter of 2 Corinthians is about Paul’s reputation with the people of this church. What caught my attention this morning was something subtle. It was verse 14: ¹⁴ We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ. It made me think of what Paul’s first trip must have been like and how much joy there must have been among everyone. The honeymoon period, if you will. They had found life in you through what Paul shared with them. But then the uneven growth pains started getting in the way.

Going back to the “Parable of the Sower,” none of the people Paul is talking to had hearts that were represented by the path. The seed stuck to some extent. But some had hearts that were stony. They heard, accepted, got excited, but never built their root system. It takes work to crush stone into soil, and they didn’t do the work. As soon as things turned hard, they fell away.

Then there was the group that had thorny and weedy hearts. They were still distracted by the cares of the world. They were still pursuing wealth. I think this one is the problem of the modern American church. It feels like we don’t do much to weed our hearts. We also don’t do much to find the stony parts of our hearts and either remove those stones or crush them into soil.

So then Paul and his people here in Corinth had their lives and feelings towards each other and you change over time. Paul continued his own journey of weeding his heart and crushing the stone, but the Corinthians struggled to do so. It reminds me of Jesus saying in Matthew 7 at the end of the “Sermon on the Mount” that the way is narrow and hard and few will find it. I think I’ve found it. Will I continue down it as Paul did, or will I get lazy, stop crushing stone, and let the weeds grow?

Father, the journey here on this earth, while a vapor in biblical and eternity terms, is seemingly long while we are here. At the same time, as I get older, it seems to move faster and faster. But I want to “press on” (Philippians 3:14). I want to “run to finish” (Hebrews 12:1). I want to consider my life worth nothing to me, but complete the work you’ve given me (Acts 20:24). Give me the strength. Give me the serenity. Give me the courage. Give me this wisdom. And, going back to 2 Corinthians 10, help me to deny any glory for myself and reflect it all to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen