2 Corinthians 4--"The Light of the Gospel"

Paul refers back to the ministry of the New Promise of God, fulfilled in Jesus, and fueled by the Spirit.  This ministry is their calling, and they are committed.  He reminds his audience, again, that there are those who put their own "spin" on the Gospel.  But not Paul and those associated with him.  They have washed their hands of any movement that would corrupt and undermine the Word of God.  They promise they are speaking openly and truthfully, not one bit afraid to be "fact checked" by the ones around them. Not everyone is accepting the Good News, though.  Satan is still using the same "veil"--sin that's taken root in a faithless heart--to blind some to the glory that shines from the face of Jesus.  Paul knows about the veil of sin and the light of life.  If there's anyone who understands what it means to have God say "let light shine out of darkness", it’s Paul.  He was on his way to Damascus to persecute and kill followers of The Way--Christians--when suddenly a light from heaven shone around him! (Acts 9)  That bright light allowed Paul to see the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus that day. And it continued to shine knowledge into him and mission from him for the rest of his life.  Although he had a "supernatural" experience when he met Jesus, he's still just a man, a "jar of clay".  All power is from God.  Paul reiterates that he's been knocked down more than his fair share of times, but he's not knocked out.  The death of Jesus is heavy but it has to be carried, because what is the story of the Resurrection if there wasn't first death??? Paul reminds his readers that death and resurrection is a template for the believers lives too.  So he embraces it, knowing that the way he approaches his struggles is bringing life and encouragement to fellow believers.  Paul unites his mindset with that of the psalmist who wrote Psalm 116:8-10, vowing to not just believe but to also speak.  The Gospel WILL grow, for our good and always for God's glory. That gives Paul a reason to get up each day.  As heavy as his struggles were, 10 YEARS so far of hard ministry; he calls it light and momentary, not even in the same ball park as the light of eternity.  All he can see is seasonal, but the things he can't see Last Forever.

This chapter, in light of our world right now, wears. me. out.  It's hard to look beyond what we see every single day to what we've never seen.  It's hard to look for and find light in so much darkness.  I'm  shocked every day that the dark world I saw on the news at bedtime is somehow even darker in the morning.  I find myself weirdly drawn to news of darkness, doom, and death; I think we may be slightly addicted to the idea that this world is going to heck in a handbasket and we knew it all along.  But we aren't here to point out darkness and hide; our mission is to point to Light and Live!! Verses 7-9 change me.  The original language would read something like this--"We are made narrow, but not made too narrow.  We are at a loss, but not utterly at a loss.  We are sent away, but not left behind. We are thrown to the ground, but not thrown out of eternal life."  We, in our jar of clayness (I made that up 😁), can't fathom the way.  But as we face uncertainty, the way we accept the pattern of death then life will change the world for the glory of God! If we believe, so let us speak.