Respond

DEVOTION

2 CORINTHIANS

RESPOND

2 Cor 7:11-13

11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13 By all this we are encouraged.

NIV

Although there certainly had been some offenses going on among the Corinthians which God surely dealt with through inspiring Paul to write that first letter, we might be able to apply this reaction in our lives. When we experience an offense against God among us, but more importantly within us, do we have this Godly sorrow? Yet here we see that this sorrow should produce a response. We should be eager to clear ourselves of this offense. We should feel indignation and alarm because of this offense we have committed. We should be so longing for and ready for justice over this offense. This is then the proof, not of being innocent of the offense, but being innocent in our response to it. It is when we do not feel those responses but allow that offense, that sin, unattended to that we begin to become comfortable with it. When we start becoming comfortable with this sin, this offense, then we are not longing responding innocently. We allow this sin to fester within us and the more comfortable we become with it and before we realize we begin to actually think it is not sin, that it is alright to behave in that manner, and we accept it as part of our life. It may not be what we think as really bad behavior, like murder, adultery, stealing, or the such, but it might be something little like gossip or having a bad attitude about someone, or being jealous or envies. It might be a small thing like thinking better of ourselves then we should, or harboring bitterness, or not forgiving someone. There are so many offenses which we could allow to become ingrained in us we do not even notice them. But this lesson reminds us we need to be aware of them and experience a Godly sorrow over them, repenting, hating that behavior in us, being alarmed that we actually did what we did, ready for justice. Of course Jesus paid that price and justice was served, but does that mean we should continue and become comfortable with that? Our response to any offense we commit should fill us with sorrow which produces all those feelings and reactions we see here. When we commit an offense we must respond.