2 Corinthians 13:5

2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.  Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test?  And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.  Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong.  Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed.  For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.  We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.  This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority — the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.  Finally, brothers, good-by.  Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace.  And the God of love and peace will be with you.  Greet one another with a holy kiss.  All the saints send their greetings.  May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 

Paul concludes this letter with an apostle's fatherly admonition to a troubled church.  He wants the Corinthians to examine their works to see if they are IN CHRIST or not.  Are they producing the peaceable fruit of the Spirit?  He challenges all of them to live holy lives: Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong.  He desires them to aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace.  Paul as the spiritual father of the Corinthian church wanted his Corinthian children to experience all the good things that his heavenly Father has for them.  He wanted his beloved children to live in Jesus Christ's grace, to love God, and to have a daily communion with the Holy Spirit.  He desired them to be with him in eternity.  The purpose of Paul's life was to father his Gentile children, so they would make it to heaven: to finish the race of life successfully.  

Every biological father should desire the same things for his children.  His life should be so oriented that his children will desire to run the race with God all the way to the end.  As Paul, a Christian father should want his children's lives to be successful IN CHRIST.  He should want his children to  know God and to hear the Holy Spirit's voice inside of them.  He should want his children to live circumspect and holy lives.  Most of all, he should desire his children to finish this race of life successfully: to be with God for eternity.  Paul was a good spiritual father to the Gentile Corinthians. Christian fathers should be good spiritual fathers to their own biological children.  As Paul, Christian fathers need to be steadfast and consistent in their lifestyles.  If they waver, if they fall into sin, if they seek after the world and its goodies, they will lead their children into confusion.  Their children will reap the fathers' sins.  The children will experience the instability that comes from following an undisciplined life.  

Paul constantly reminded the Corinthians to follow me as I follow Christ: look at my life.  What a fearsome responsibility, but that is the natural consequence of being a father.  Young children look up to their fathers and follow them.  When children are very young, their fathers are God-like to them.  They believe everything their fathers say.  They want to be just like their fathers.  When fathers betray that trust, that reliance, they bring their children into great uncertainty, into great conflict.  The wayward father has exposed his child to the devil's wiles, and that child become the devil's workshop.  He loves to work in a confused, troubled atmosphere.  The perplexed children are now open game to be snatched and deceived.  

Therefore Christian fathers, I implore you, be all THAT YOU SHOULD BE IN CHRIST: BE A CONSISTENT example of Christ's grace and POWER.  Live your lives as if the spiritual lives of your children depend on it, for they do.  I once heard a statistic that a huge percentage of children become Christians when their fathers follow Christ, but only a minority of children will follow their mother into Christiandom if the mother is the only Christian in the home.  Fathers are definitely the leaders in the spiritual world.  They can lead their children to Christ, or they can lead their children into confusion and destruction.  In every community, in every nation, fathers are considered the warriors.  They are the ones who are expected to die for the community, the nation.  The question is, Father, what will you die for?   Are you willing to die daily to your own desires and worldliness for your children's sake?   Or will you retreat into your own pleasures and sacrifice your children on that altar of self?  It is your life to do with as you want.  Paul said, I will suffer everything for my children; I will even die for them.  Of course that is what he did.  The Bible says to every father, quit like a soldier.  Otherwise, don't turn and run, die on the battlefield.  Real fathers, real soldiers, don't turn and run.   Love, Dad (Cliff)

(Since we are at the end of 2 Corinthians, I will take a short respite.)