Conflicts #6 Healing...
| Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia. ...(Huge 5 chapter long digression on God's power in our weakness).... 7:5 For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn--conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. (2Corinthians2:12-13) |
Paul was anxious about the congregation and was upset when he couldn't find Titus in Troas and so he headed for Macedonia where he hoped to meet up with Titus. There were many hardships Paul experienced during this time and so the eventual arrival of Titus was a great relief to him.
This process of searching, longing, struggling, waiting and then hearing good news obviously had a very big impact on Paul. As he writes about it, he is like a good novelist who keeps his readers in suspense by spending five chapters talking about how God gives victory and works in our weaknesses before giving us the happy ending to the story.
As we'll see in these five chapters, Paul portrays a very human side to himself as he reveals his struggles and weaknesses. We'll spend the next few weeks on this digression.
But the good news at the end of the digression is that the relationship has already started healing. Titus was well-received and well-treated by the Corinthians even though he was closely associated to Paul. Titus also expressed their longing, their remorse and their concern for Paul.
This is the start of healing. Longing, Remorse and Concern. It reveals their understanding of what they could lose (longing), what went wrong (remorse) and what they truly wanted (concern). Maybe these are the foundations of healing...
And, in the case of Paul and the Corinthians, it had already started! There was still more to do and this letter is the next step. But it had started...
