By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
I to matou taenga mai hoki ki Makeronia, kihai i whai okiokinga to matou kikokiko, heoi mate ana matou i nga taha katoa; i waho ko nga whawhai, i roto ko nga mataku.
Auā e moni lava ‘ina ‘ua matou ō mai i Maketonia, sa leai se mapu i o matou tino; ‘ae sa puapuagātia i matou i mea uma; o tau‘a i fafo a o le fefe i totonu.
For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
2 Corinthians 7:5
When Paul wrote this verse, he was referring to when he was waiting to hear how the Corinthians responded to the “confronting letter” delivered to them by Titus. Paul had written to the Corinthians to address their sin and call them back to faithfulness.
Titus had been in Corinth delivering the letter. He then returned to meet Paul, who was travelling north up the 400-kilometre eastern coast road of Macedonia (now Greece) from Ephesus (now in western Turkey).
Paul expected to meet Titus in the seaport of Troas. But, when he didn’t find him there, Paul sailed 200 kilometres in the next week over the northern Aegean Sea towards Macedonia to search for him.
For Titus and Paul, the cost of sending that letter to the Corinthians was great. They had to part ways, both embarking on a week-long dangerous trek. In verse five, Paul talks about the cost of confronting.
Externally, they experienced exhaustion, harassment, tension, fighting. Travelling in the ancient world was not for the faint-hearted.
Internally, Paul was conflicted. He probably feared for Titus’ safety, he feared the Corinthians would reject him and his message, he feared physical persecution and ministry failure. I think he probably feared isolation, being abandoned in the struggle. The toll on Paul was immense—in fact, he said that he felt the comfort of God when Titus returned.
Paul experienced significant trials in order to send that letter to the Corinthians.
What I’ve noticed is that when we confront people, we can have one of two attitudes.
When we desire to condemn, we want others to pay. When our hearts are wanting to confront with the gospel, we are willing to pay a price.
When we desire to confront in a Christ-like way, we are willing to pay a price to see them restored. We are willing to pay the price to see them restored because of the One who paid the price for us to be restored.
