2 Corinthians 11:21-29

2 Corinthians 11:21-29  What anyone else dares to boast about — I am speaking as a fool — I also dare to boast about.  Are they Hebrews?  So am I.  Are they Israelites?  So am I.  Are they Abraham’s descendants?  So am I.  Are they servants of Christ?  (I am out of my mind to talk like this.)  I am more.  I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.  I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.  Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?  Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 

Paul tells the Corinthians he is speaking as a fool for he has been pressed to boast as he justifies his apostleship to the Corinthian church.  In the above passage, he relates in much detail the adverse and demanding experiences he has endured to preach the gospel to them and to others.  He wants the Corinthians to compare his credentials with the lives of those who now falsely claim to be their spiritual fathers.  Sadly, Paul feels he has to do this to regain the Corinthians' respect and allegiance to him as their spiritual father.  He wants to open up their eyes to the truth.    

In looking at Paul's experiences, one quickly notices that Paul's life wasn't easy.  He didn't seem to win the proverbial white house in the country with the white picket fence around it.  His portrayal of his life doesn't seem to fit the bucolic scene that so many American Christians have in their minds once they give their lives to Christ.  Paul's life experiences were just the opposite of what many people want when they decide to follow Christ.  Where in Paul's experience is the aspect that God wants you to be all that you can be in your life?  Where is the surplus of goods and money in Paul's account?  Where in Paul's life is the physical and material security that people so often seek?  Where is the fulfillment of all Paul's natural earthly desires and goals?  In today's passage it sounds as if Paul died to his earthly desires and wants.  He seemed not to be worried about how many touchdowns he scored or whether he earned the applause of the world.  His basic concern in life revolved around doing the will of God and following his leading.  He was committed to serving God no matter the cost.  Paul had one life to live, and that life was yielded to God; he sacrificed his life for Christ; he died daily.  Paul boasted in one thing and that was his service to God.  By serving God completely, even recklessly, he validated himself as a true apostle, the true spiritual father of the Corinthians.  And this boast was made only in desperation to win a people back to the truth.

Are we this committed?  Probably not.  But God is still asking for our lives--our substance, our time, our everything!  He asks us to be willing and faithful servants regardless of personal tragedies and experiences.  He asks us to reach out to others even when we experience pain in our own circumstances.  This is the will of God that we should have the mind of Christ: who even though he was God, willingly gave himself and suffered for humanity.  Christ willingly went to the cross and gave his life for mankind.  Paul proved his apostleship to the Corinthians by his willingness to give his life for them.  We need to be like minded.  Is that possible?  Only if we stay close to the Lord and hear his voice.  He will direct us, He will lead us, He will choose our life's course.  Is it difficult for us to completely give our lives to Christ?  Yes, for our flesh still desires the bucolic scene, the one of peace, the one void of difficulties.  We want to see the end of the road in this idyllic environment, drawing our blankets around our bodies in peaceful contentment.  We surely don't want to end our lives in Rome or on a cross on some barren hillside.  But that is not the way of a Christian; a believer is committed to Christ regardless.  We must realize that in commitment and true surrender comes real contentment and true peace.