This is a view from the roof of Trump tower in Chicago where I attended a business dinner last week.

He’s a Hot Mess

2 Corinthians 7, part two 

“Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one,” verse 2. 

This chapter is not readily familiar to most but it has a couple of piercing and compelling themes. Paul is going deeper into a topic he referred to in  2:13; the severe letter. As a reminder, Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians in between 1 and 2 Corinthians. It is a lost letter to us now but is often referred to as the “severe letter.” I Corinthians was fairly severe in its own right with Paul confronting divisions, divorce, immorality, etc. But this one, ‘the severe letter,’ we surmise, was really severe. 

Loved ones who turn on you 

Even though the church responded fairly well to I Corinthians and abandoned some of their bad behavior, false teachers moved in to create a false narrative about the person and ministry of Paul. Many of the Corinthians fell for it hook, line and sinker.  

What we see in this chapter and earlier in chapter 2 is the reality of the Corinthians buying into the accusations against Paul. This DEVASTATED him. I mean it crushed his heart. Paul had an affection for all his churches but for some reason, this church and its people, were very, very special to him. (Perhaps it was because he initially spent 18 months there, which was a long time for him as a church planter). The news of their defection was as crushing as if it were his own children. So, in much fear and trembling, Paul wrote the severe letter. It was, in his mind, a ‘last ditch effort’ kind of letter. He knew he couldn’t hold back but he feared it may push them away from him for good.  

A heavy heart 

Ever been in a situation like that? It’s scary. Paul sent the letter with Titus to deliver it to the Corinthians. The end of this chapter, 2 Corinthians 7, indicates that he sent Titus with the letter giving Titus intimate views into his love for these people. Perhaps telling him specifically about individuals he had become especially close with. These were Paul’s heartfelt brothers and sisters in Christ. But now they had turned on Him. They turned on him and maybe even turned on Christ. Paul’s heart was very heavy. He sent the severe letter with Titus to deliver. He then waited. And waited.  

Let’s move on 

Ever have someone tell you, ‘It’s time to move on?’ It’s a bit irritating, isn’t it? Sometimes you just want to hang on to hope, no matter how dire it may seem.

Trying to move on with his responsibilities, Paul went to Troas where God opened a door of ministry. People were responding to the gospel. Then what happened is surprising. Paul was so consumed with anxiety over the Corinthians and what their response to the severe letter might be that he left Troas (where God was blessing his ministry) to go to Macedonia in hopes of finding Titus. Maybe Titus will have some news from his visit to Corinth. 

So, lest you feel that Paul was superhuman in some way, never doing anything wrong and never letting his emotions or his flesh get the best of him, well here you go. Paul leaves the successful ministry in Troas because he was DEPRESSED and filled with anxiety and fear! Where was his understanding of God’s Sovereignty? Why couldn’t he “let go and let God…?”  

Let’s get real 

I’m not necessarily saying Paul was “right” in his depression but you know what? It was real, he’s human and WE CAN RELATE. So, where do I get the information for all my speculation on what is going on behind the scenes here? A careful reading of this chapter (as well as 2:13ff) reveals most of the fuel for my conjecture. For example, 7:5-9 says,  

“For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, FEARS WITHIN. But God, who comforts the DEPRESSED, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. For though I caused you sorrow by my letter…I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance.”  

Paul was human. In the south we would say ‘He was a hot mess.’ He felt deeply. God used him when he was strong and God used him when he was weak and vulnerable. That’s good news for us because sometimes we are strong and sometimes we are weak. Lord, whether we are strong or weak or somewhere in between today, please use us! More on this chapter tomorrow. Amen.