Firmness of Faith

DEVOTION

2 CORINTHIANS

FIRMNESS OF FAITH

2 Cor 1:23-24

23 I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

NIV

Another section of what appears to be of a personal note, or of a personal nature yet it still holds a truth for us. Should any of us be so spiritual that we ever feel better than another? Should we ever consider lording it over others about how much of a better Christian we are then they? It would not be a very good attitude if we ever felt we were in any way better, more spiritual than any other. In fact, that would be prideful and that is sin, which puts us right at the same level of who we might be judging to be inferior to our great faith or obedience to God. It would seem right for us to know who we are, and that we are a part of the body of Christ and we should be working together with all the other parts for the greater good of all, so that all of us could experience the joy of the Lord together. It might be good for us to spend time rejoicing because of another’s faith in God and thier standing firm in their position, their convictions about God and their relationship to him. Instead of seeing their faults we should be seeing their faith. We should be rejoicing about their faith. In all reality we do not know all the temptations and trials they are experiencing. Although if we were really being the true body of Christ we most likely should know these things, yet in real life, we do not. We all tend to hold back our own personal problems and troubles and simply bring prayer requests for our uncle’s friend who has a nephew who lives next to a person who is having trouble. If we really were being who we should be, then we could share our needs, our own needs and we could rejoice with each other in our standing firm in the face of adversity. We may never get to that point, but we surely should, at least, not judge each other, and still rejoice because others are saved and trying their best to live a life pleasing to God. We all fail at that, but we are all standing firm in our faith. We all are trying to live with the sin that so easily beseechs us. We all are trying to overcome temptations, and to continue in our walk with God. We each face some of the same temptations and some face different ones, but we are not giving up on God, on our faith and just going back to a life of faithless, hopeless despair, living solely for self-satisfaction. So let rejoice together because of our firmness of faith.