February 21 - 2 Corinthians 2:4

February 21 - 2 Corinthians 2:4

“For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.”

At some point, Paul had visited Corinth and had to deal with some painful things.  There was a severe letter that had been written and this comes after all of that had happened.  Paul didn’t want to return and bring this church any more pain.  There were members of the church that had gotten defiant and he simply did not want to inflame the issue any further.

The worst thing was that if he had an argument with the church again, it would wound him terribly because the church there was his support and were the ones who cared for him when he was upset! (2 Cor. 2:2)

This is a man of great passion and intense love for his friends.  He was absolutely furious with them for their behavior.  He had sent an irate letter intending to help them move past the issue and forward into joy, but the message came back to him that they hadn’t quite gotten there yet.  He had intended to visit them to push them along the path a little more quickly, but we see in 2 Cor. 1 that he decided to stay away because he didn’t want to deal with those who remained obstinate and defiant.  No matter what he said or did, they would insist that he was wrong and would further divide the church.

Paul loved these people.  They grieved him – he cried for them. 

In that same way, God loves us.  We grieve His heart.  That will never change – we are humanity and we are prone to sin.  But, His love for us outweighs any pain or any grief. 

Every day that we are alive … we are loved, even when we are obstinate and defiant.  He still loves us.