Day 246

Isaiah 3:1-5:7, 2 Corinthians 6:3-7:1, Psalm 105:12-22

It was not that long ago, as we struggled through parts of Chronicles, that I commented on taking the good with the bad, how the journey with God has its ups and downs. I think that everyone finds this true of life in general, where one day can have us feeling on top of the world and the next day can see us in the depths. That is life.

With Paul’s words on hardship there is a clear contrast between the troubles and the more positive side to things. He is talking about commending ourselves in the beatings and the difficulty but also commending ourselves in purity and truthful speaking. Paul is saying that, despite all the persecution that he and the others were suffering, they were still marked by the marks of Christ.

This passage also builds our understanding of the Christian life quite a bit. Throughout our reading we have seen different approaches and descriptions of what we might call the “marks of Christ”. Here, purity, truthful speaking, understanding, patience and kindness are all thrown into the mix. But then we also see power of God, sincere love and “the Holy Spirit”. It is easier to be patient and kind than it is to exude the power of God and the Holy Spirit. It is also easy to drift from the power of God and the Holy Spirit when the chips are down and we are getting battered by the wind and the waves, the challenge is to cling on to them as best we can.

Taking the rough with the smooth often means that we have to cope with the rough because the smooth will come later. For the Christian it means that we have to stick with the smooth when we are in the midst of the rough. When others see the Holy Spirit within us even when we are finding it hard, then they see the true power of God at work.