Good day dear friends.
Our text for today comes from 2 Corinthians 6: 1 As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, "At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 11 We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. 12 There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. 13 In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also. (NRSV)
We, as the church, tend to forget our task is salvation. I started to use The Message version for today's text, but verse two leaves out that important word. Salvation for many, is an antiquated word, left to other denominations to use, yet, it was and is, key to the work we are and should be about: Inviting people to confess their sins, repent of them, and entering into a new relationship with Jesus Christ. Salvation is being taken out of the hands of certain death into the arms of a loving God, Who in turn will use us to bring others into that same relationship. Jesus spoke of it in John 3 to Nicodemus and said we must be "born again" or "born from above," meaning that we are called to the spiritual things of life, not just the physical, visible ones. Many say this is why the Church is dying in some places, we've become all things except that to which we were called to be. Our operations and programs would just as easily work in a civic club or a country club in some cases. The real message has been either hidden or lost. We should exist to seek the lost, the last, and the least.
The work of Christ Jesus is not easy work. It is frustrating at times. It is drenched in tears at times. It means sometimes getting yelled at or ignored or rejected, for the sake of Christ. Those who seek to please God must forget about pleasing themselves or trying to be "people pleasers." There is no way to serve Jesus and anyone or anything else at the same time. To serve Christ Jesus means to have the biggest, most open heart you can hope to have; seeing all as brothers and sisters, as neighbors, as united together in the love and under the banner of He who died for us, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
May today's passage serve as encouragement for what we are called to do. May boldness take the place of cowardice or reluctance. May service take the place of selfishness, and may we seek to win as many as we can to the love of God.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for all You have shared and done for us. May today be the start of claiming as Paul, the task that is ours and serves to reach others. Grant us courage, wisdom and boldness; and above all a heart for others. We pray in Christ Jesus, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
