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Verses 3-4, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. I really needed these verses this past couple of weeks. When we need comfort, only God can really provide it for us. And when we receive comfort we need to provide it back to others as we have received it from God. All praise be to God and for the comfort He freely gives to us.
24 But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.
Ah, grace. It’s a beautiful thing. Though he gives them guidance in their faith, he doesnt want to lord over them. He knows they are new to this and that mistakes will be made but his trust in God is greater. He understands that there is grace for each believer as they work out their faith. A reminder to us. Yes se need to speak truth to one another, but in the end we habe to trust the Lord to guide us in oud faith.
About a year ago I was really angry at Paul. For some reason as I read his letters I just had this idea of him as an arrogant jerk. I supppose it’s easy to get that impression because he is so assured of what he’s writing and I think I just didn’t want to hear it. But as I read his letters now, I see the love he has for these churches. I see the ridiculous amount of grace he shows them. As I read commentary on some of the back story I understand better the defense of himself, the admonitions he gave and the love and grace he showed. I’m getting to like him a bit better than before :).
The last couple of years I felt the same way about Paul. It wasn’t until the end of last year that I was able to read his letters and see his heart to the believers of that time. He always said things for their benefit, not for condemnation. We could all take a page out of that book and learn how to properly deal with our community of believers.