August 12, 2010
2 Corinthians 11
Pastor Stan Wilson
“When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut.” (2 Corinthians 11:29 – The Message)
As we read these words of Paul, we see right through to the heart of the Apostle. Paul was a man of deep compassion. He felt a piercing, heartfelt pain when those who had become his spiritual children were overwhelmed and felt like they couldn’t hold on any longer. When they were caught in the enemy’s trap, giving way to the deception of sin, he was filled with righteous anger. It was obvious that he cared deeply about their spiritual welfare and was committed to their ongoing spiritual growth – despite the personal cost.
Can the same be said of you and me? How do we respond when those that we know and love are bombarded with the challenges of life and find themselves overcome with anxiety, worry and pain? Do we feel their pain and reach out? How do we respond when we see our neighbors’ wrong choices give way to the devastation brought by sin? Are we willing to intervene, even though it may cost us time and emotion?
Far too often, I am convinced that our pace is so accelerated that we become too busy with our own realities and routines to even notice the pain and destruction of others in our paths. As long as we keep this unintentional pace, we will fall short of the godly model seen in Paul.
Recently, I was given some great advice that may help us all. It was simply, “Walk slowly through the crowd.” Let’s make a decision to slow our pace and be ready to reach out to those around us that are hurting and lost.
When asked about his favorite Bible character, Pastor Stan chose Nehemiah due to “his willingness to persevere in order to repair something that the enemy had reduced to rubble and commitment to help others take part in the process of restoration as the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt.”
