successful sorrow

When the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, it is thought to have been #2 in a sequence of 4 letters. 2 Corinthians is thought to have been letter #4 of 4 total letters.

And so consider:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God... I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds...Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter....
(from 2 Corinthians chapter 7 NIV)

In 1 Corinthians, Paul is both reminding the Corinthians and attempting to correct them because he dearly loves and adores them. Paul helped start the church at Corinth, and had invested a great deal of time and relationships into this church. It wasn't just another church down the road. There was a very real, true commitment and deep relationship between Paul and the church at Corinth.

The Corinthians in time got away from devotion to God, and were wronging God and each other. Living for themselves and pursuing selfish ends. Paul took personal offense to this, and probably had feelings of sadness and anger and disappointment that his children and family members were reveling in wild living and casting off the truth of God for wordly pursuits.

This passage in 2 Corinthians seems to be an affirmation passage. It seems that something did click with Paul's corrective attempts, and the Corinthians genuinely felt sorrowful for their previous behavior.

Paul is sorry that he hurt his beloved family members, but realizes that it ends up benefiting them and strengthening them. Sorrow in this case helped wake up the Corinthians.

I think there's a good take away for our modern-day culture. We typically see sorrow and sadness as bad things. They're not necessarily desirable. Nobody wants to be sad. Yet, if sadness brings about forgiveness or reconciliation, where there had previously been sin or brokenness, then sorrow has acted successfully.

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.."

sharing what's been up with me: restoration

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:12 NIV)

This past weekend was awesome. God is graceful and compassionate in the least expected times. I went to Texas for a wedding which can only be described as: complete awesomeness. I mean primarily the wedding, but being in Texas didn't hurt matters. The fullness and completeness of the love and joy of Christ were so evident and visible throughout time with friends and the ceremony and festivities of the wedding. I wanted to bottle it up and take it home to have some more for later.

Before this weekend, I had just felt sort of blah, going through the motions, and this weekend helped me realize the complacency of that and how I was walking (or barely shuffling along) with Jesus, which is not ok. It's hard to describe exactly the specifics of the blah-ness, but it was there, and this weekend encouraged me through grace upon grace.

Different conversations and seeing the love surrounding the wedding provided a very clear distinction of what is found in Christ. That which is found only in Him. I talked with people and had conversations that resulted in a swelling up of compassion and recognition that Christ is so completely and extremely needed everywhere in this world. In every relationship, in every family, in every society. And in the wedding, I saw a clear and tangible proof of that.

And I don't think by coincidence, this morning, I woke up and really had a sense that there was more serious spiritual attack going on than normal. The enemy does not like it when your joy of salvation is exploding. So that's not saying a lot, other than I can positively testify that Christ is the Lord of compassion and all things good, and unto Him we are to take our brokenness, even if we forget to intentionally do so.