“We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.”
2 Corinthians 1:12-14 NLT
Comfort comes through suffering and a clear conscience. This is the first message in second Corinthians. This type of comfort is a relatively foreign concept in today’s world. It is a lost virtue in a world that values ease over patience. The idea that our faith is grown through savoring struggle beyond a single moment in time has been lost and altered into something that makes us ultimately uncomfortable. Yet, we see in genesis that discomfort mixed with a clean conscience is a prescription for a return to the righteous path. It is precisely what God told us would be necessary after the fall. Peace and comfort come from a life lived honestly and righteously and the outcome is not immediately counted nor is the reward. Instead, it is held for judgment day and deferred. Paul rejoices in what is yet to come, with a faith that God will give it to him when it is time. He admits that it has been hard to do so, but that it has actually forced him to become wholly reliant upon God alone and to grow to be able to withstand momentary sufferings, persecution and defamation. For Paul, comfort is no longer a product of ease but a promise of satisfaction gained at judgment. Modern Christianity should rediscover this doctrine.
JOSH McGARY. COM 