We finished up I Corinthians yesterday morning, during our LCM Sunday Church School class. It on one of the closing comments that I wish to reflect this morning. I was brought back to that thought, when I opened my devotional guide and realized that it would be directing me to II Corinthians over the next couple of weeks. II Corinthians will be our text for LCM SCS starting this Sunday.
It will be helpful to me to read II Corinthians in the mornings, as a devotional, before delving into it later in the week in preparation for study. It will be the same words and the same information, but looked at in differing ways. My morning read is intended to guide me in my prayer; my study time is to help me understand.
The ending of I Corinthians, the comment on which I reflected this morning, includes a comment from Paul that he hopes to come to Corinth soon. But, he says, he will not drop by for a short visit. In fact, he won't come unless he can stay for a while. He says that he even hopes he might be able to winter with them.
Paul knows that it takes time for faith (and an understanding of faith) to be passed from one to another.
Too often we treat Christian faith as if it were a tidbit of information - a secret told to another. Rather, it is a relationship and a way of life. Faith comes to us by hearing, and we hear the words of those who proclaim it in our lives. This is a process, and it takes time.
If I am lucky, by the end of the school year, I will have made my way through II Corinthians. I am looking forward to Paul spending the winter with me, in devotion and in study, so that I might be strengthened in my discipleship; so that I might more fully understand the wisdom of God's Word. If it does take me months to compete this one book, that is okay. I need time - time to not only learn the words but to integrate into my life what the words are intended to communicate.
Open your bibles to II Corinthians. Read along. And share what it is that you are learning by a slow and intentional walk with Paul.
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