Tom writes:

Paul reaches back over his shoulder, brushes his fingertips on his quiver and selects his final arrow. He has been assaulting the posing, self-interested, fleshy manner of doing ministry... and he has nearly killed it off. As he pulls back the bowstring he has whittled everything down to the simplest of choices. Service or employment. Employment is fine in many contexts but not as a mindset about relationships. Employment is based on an exchange of services for goods - I do this and that for you and you give me something or other in return. That is how the super-apostles did their relationships. They visited and vanquished and vied for affection so they could extract value from their “friends”. They built relationships so they could use them for their own ends. But that is not the way of Jesus. Jesus approached the little boy not because he wanted his bread and fish but to show the boy how he could be used by God to feed five thousand. Jesus didn’t want money from the rich young ruler; he wanted him to be freed from his superficial obsession with wealth. Jesus invested in the disciples for the sake of us all.

And so the mark and mindset of Christ-like relationships is service. It is finding people and really committing to their good. It is saying that I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. It is a dangerous way to live. People let you down. People you have wedded yourself to can hurt you and embarrass you and humble you. To continue in this kind of life you end up prizing things like thorns in the flesh. You begin to treasure things that humble you because you see that God uses humility to keep you in service. It’s a weird thing, isn’t it? Weakness feels so awkward and discouraging. Popularity and strength feels so wonderful. And yet Paul let’s his arrow fly to kill off the ‘super-apostles’ obsession with strength because when I feel strong I think I deserve stuff. Jesus sent the thorn in the flesh to puncture Paul’s pride in his power. Paul let his arrow fly to collapse the Corinthians capacity for conceit. God wants you humble in your relationships; to serve without demanding stuff back. Where are you at with that? What are you treasuring today? Let’s pray for Paul’s arrow to pierce our hearts as well.

Question for reflection

Do you build relationships with people because of what you can get from them or because of what Jesus wants you to give to them?

2 Corinthians 12 - Monday 24th June