Week 36, Days 3 & 4
September 8-9 Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11 & 12 “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” (2 Corinthians 11:14–15) “Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” (2 Corinthians 12:6–7) Ravi Zacharias, Bill Hybels, and many others, are all well known church leaders who suffered a great moral fall. Their moral failures brought harm to many people and devastated Christians across the globe who looked to their leadership. How could someone whom Christians trust and love, who do such great work for the kingdom, how could they have such a terrible moral failure and hurt so many? How did God use those people, despite their hidden sin? This is the thought that I have shared with many Christians over the last several years after all the fallout of Christian leaders abuses of power and sexual misconduct. “Satan himself masquerades” is a good way to put it. Satan’s servants will masquerade as well. I will admit that it is judgmental for me to toss that out there. I’m not perfect either. But it is a strong caution for us to consider as we think about who we elevate and give our focus and devotion to. Let it always be Jesus. That’s Paul’s point. And ultimately, he tells us to look at the fruit of people’s lives. Those men I mentioned did many wonderful things, and apparently, many awful things too. Either way, Paul’s counsel is, “Their end will be what their actions deserve.” That is a sobering assessment. And instead of a condemnatory tone against men, whom at one time I and many other admired – we ought to look inwardly. God will judge me for what my actions deserve. Am I pretending to be a follower of Jesus, masquerading around like I love Jesus, or is it a true and genuine love? That’s important. Then we see in the second part of our reading a strange dialogue with Paul and the church in Corinth. 2 Corinthians 11 and 12 is a strange bit of writing from Paul. You get a sense that he is flustered with what has come about in the church. It appears that there is a questioning of Paul’s leadership. In a bit of insecurity, Paul shares his qualifications for apostleship. He reaffirms that he truly is an apostle, and deservedly so. He has faced great trials and difficulties and even was caught up into heaven. He saw the risen Jesus and experienced him. So yes, he’s qualified. Yet, the point is not to boast in our accomplishments and experiences. For Paul, he is saying, “I’m sorry it’s a problem for you that I haven’t been bragging about all I’ve done. Those other leaders are proud of themselves. I am proud of Jesus.” That’s my simple interpretation of what Paul is saying here. Put even more simply, “If you gotta brag about someone, brag about Jesus. Not yourself!” It’s amazing how our insecurities cause us to boast about our accomplishments. I sense that within me all the time. It feeds into the masquerading, though, doesn’t it? Let’s remember how we are actually righteous and good, it’s all through Jesus our Lord!
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AuthorJordan Ickes, Minister of Etna Green Church of Christ. Archives
December 2022
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