2 CORINTHIANS 4
15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer selfis wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
– 2 Corinthians 4:15-18
2 CORINTHIANS 4 AFFLICTIONS PREPARE US FOR ETERNAL LIFE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Don’t be disheartened when you are faced with afflictions
They prepare us for the eternal life that the Lord promised
Without afflictions, we won’t see the value of a higher power
It is the broken and the afflicted that Jesus Christ died for
When you are faced with various kinds of trials, rejoice
It will build your character and make you strong to endure.
Paul encourages the Corinthian believers who were plagued with many kinds of afflictions. Because Corinth is a big city with a history of many pagan idols, it probably was a big challenge to live outside of the culture that they have known for years. Paul reiterates James 1 when the book of James in chapter one says the following: “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” It means that if we encounter such trials and hardships, we must be thankful because we have a chance to grow our faith and our dependence on God. In our world today, many people frown upon afflictions such as illnesses, diseases, uncomfortable and hard lives. Do you ever wonder why there is so much suffering in this world we live in? Aside from the truth that we live in a corrupt world with an inherited sinful nature, God uses afflictions to prepare us for eternity.
REFLECTION
- Why do humans tend to avoid afflictions instead of embracing them?
