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Post by sarah on Feb 7, 2007 21:58:55 GMT -8
11/05:
This chapter has my life verse, which is basically a verse that so resonates with me that if I were to write a summation of the plot of my life and faith this would be it.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
I fell in love with 2Corinthians in high school because it so strongly spoke to my overwrought, overwhelmed, depressed teenage brain. I felt like Paul's example of the hard pressed on every side phrasing. (4:8-9)
I also really like verse 21-22
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
A deposit is just a small fraction of something far more valuable. It makes my brain short circuit a bit to think about what sort of thing, for lack of a better word, the Spirit is a deposit on.
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Post by Josh on Feb 7, 2007 22:07:09 GMT -8
11/05:
Not enough time to say more now, except I love the idea that in Christ, the message is Yes!
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Post by Josh on Feb 7, 2007 22:07:43 GMT -8
11/05:
Note this quote from The USCCB Website:
"The letter is remarkable for its rhetoric. Paul falls naturally into the style and argumentation of contemporary philosophic preachers, employing with ease the stock devices of the "diatribe." By a barrage of questions, by challenges both serious and ironic, by paradox heaped upon paradox, even by insults hurled at his opponents, he strives to awaken in his hearers a true sense of values and an appropriate response. All his argument centers on the destiny of Jesus, in which a paradoxical reversal of values is revealed. But Paul appeals to his own personal experience as well. In passages of great rhetorical power (2 Cor 4:7-15; 6:3-10; 11:21-29; 12:5-10; 13:3-4) he enumerates the circumstances of his ministry and the tribulations he has had to endure for Jesus and the gospel, in the hope of illustrating the pattern of Jesus' existence in his own and of drawing the Corinthians into a reappraisal of the values they cherish. Similar passages in the same style in his other letters (cf especially Romans 8:31-39; 1 Cor 1:26-31; 4:6-21; 9:1-27; 13:1-13; Philippians 4:10-19) confirm Paul's familiarity with contemporary rhetoric and demonstrate how effectively it served to express his vision of Christian life and ministry."
This just sheds further light on what Paul does and does not mean in his comments regarding the use of "brilliance of speech" and "words of wisdeom" in 1 Corinthians 2- namely, we can and should use our talents to help communicate, but ultimately we should rely on the Holy Spirit, not our own abilities.
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Post by Josh on Feb 7, 2007 22:09:11 GMT -8
Originally posted 3/30/06:
I was watching something on TV the other night about some kids with a rare disease. The amount of suffering they and their families bear seemed so overwhelming to me. It seemed hard to see anything redemptive in it, and yet I could pick up on at least one thing: their incredible resilience.
Still, I sometimes wonder if my faith could handle something like that.
I knew that 2 Cor. 1 speaks of the "God of all comfort", so I turned again to this chapter. I was drawn to Paul's assurance of God's comfort-- even in a situation in which he despaired even of life. The "sentence of death" he describes I think adequately describes the depths of human misery. And yet-- it is God who raises the dead.
Paul tapped into a peace that passes understanding and a blessed comfort in the face of despair that I find hope in. I pray for all of those who are in despair right now that God would indeed be shown to be the God of all comfort.
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