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Day 13 2 Corinthians 13 2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 2 I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: 3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. 4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. 5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. 7 Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. 10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. 11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints salute you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.) You don’t often think of someone who has done a lot of good as being weak. Weakness is often associated with frailty or a limited capacity to understand. Yet Paul said Jesus was weak as He hung on the cross. Paul didn’t mean Jesus was weak mentally, but physically. He had lost a lot of blood by the time the Romans nailed Him to the cross. He had been scourged, and a crown of thorns pressed into His skull. His blood flowed so much, He couldn’t carry His cross, someone else needed to assist Him. Yet, for all Jesus’ weakness, He still had the strength to hang on the cross. It takes physical strength to push up with the legs to get air in the lungs and not suffocate. It took strength to speak the words Jesus did in His dying hours on the cross. So, even though Jesus’ body was weak, His mind was strong and focused on the one thing that meant the most to Him, salvation. It was through His weakness He had the power to save the world. As Christians, you too are weak. If Jesus was weak, hanging on a cross, you are weak being able to do only so much for the work of God’s kingdom. One person cannot do all the work. It takes everyone working together to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations of the world. It was through the power of God that Jesus rose from the dead. It is through the power of God you proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only through God’s power in you are you strong, and perfect in Him. Are you perfect? Most would say no. However, the Greek word for perfect means complete. You are made complete in Jesus Christ through the power of God and His death and resurrection for your salvation. Perfect also means to restore. So, as you live your lives through the power of Jesus Christ, live it complete knowing God restored you to Himself through His power that lives in you by the Holy Spirit. Go and restore others to Jesus Christ, making disciples of the nations, just as Jesus commanded before He ascended triumphant to the Father. Being weak is a good thing because it shows God’s power in you. Go and be perfect in Him. Let’s pray: Father, help me live a perfect life in you, complete and restored. Help me through Your power to go to the nations and make complete Christians restoring them through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 12 April 2019 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay