A People Who Comfort
“But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.” 2 Corinthians 7:6-7
Imagine you are a minister of the Gospel, far from your home and the people you know, laboring in a place where the Gospel is spreading effectively. Your work is bearing fruit. Lives are changing and people are coming to Christ. But now you’ve received news that another church you started in another city, hundreds of miles away, is struggling. They’re stumbling in their walk. Outright sin in the congregation is not being dealt with. You are unable to leave the church you are building but you need to send a rebuke to them. You don’t have internet or even snail mail, so you send your message with your most trusted friend. And you wait.
You are in a town far from where you were born, far from your whole life before Christ. The people speak differently from where you grew up, they look different, and they eat different foods. Even the weather is different! The secular culture there permits things unthinkable to your people. But you are here because the spread of the Gospel is what you have been called to do. The Gospel is the most important thing in existence.
When your friend does not show up where you had planned to meet, you begin to wonder if you should have sent that harsh letter after all. Should you have gone in person instead, in spite of everything? Imagine your uncertainty as you wait. Imagine your concern for that church, for those people you love deeply, not knowing what is going on or how they reacted.
Then, your trusted brother in the gospel shows up with the best possible news. The Holy Spirit is at work in your loved ones so far from you. They received your ministry partner and took him in and comforted him. They dealt with the sin. The sinner earnestly repented. Their words of comfort travelled back to you. Imagine the weight that lifted. Imagine the relief.
Possibly it’s needless to say that “you” were the apostle Paul in this story. The far away church where you had ministered was in Corinth. This story has been working deep in my heart lately and I wanted to share it with you. First, even though the Gospel’s primacy kept him at work far from them, Paul’s immense care and love for the church in Corinth is evident in his letters. As an elder here at Living Hope, this is a feeling I know. My desire for you is that the Holy Spirit would work richly in your life and that we will persevere in our Christian walk together, living in a way befitting God’s children.
Second, notice the effect of the words of comfort from Corinth. They accepted and listened to Titus. They were open to the wisdom and direction of their beloved apostle. They were kind and encouraging to Titus. Titus brought that comfort to Paul; Paul communicated that comfort back to Corinth; and two thousand years later, innumerable Christians have been comforted by this beautiful example of encouragement in the Gospel.
Friend, we are in this ministry together and no matter where you are in life, you can speak a word of pure encouragement to someone. I encourage you to find a fellow Christian this week (and the weeks that follow) and give them a word of encouragement. Let them know what God is doing in your life right now. Communicate how important their life and their testimony is to you and to others. Tell them something they’ve done that has encouraged you. You never know how God will use it or how far reaching that blessing will be.
