A Thorn in the Flesh
I am finally understanding that verse. We are given physical weakness to know that we are not capable of what we think we are, to keep us humble, to remind us of where real power comes from. And it refocuses us to what really matters.
Someone I know, a very talented young man in the ministry whom I have prayed for that he not become proud, is going through physical weakness. This person has been treated like a superhero, the savior, the one-who-is-to-come. I believe the physical weakness is 1. to keep him from accomplishing what he would have otherwise simply in his physical body 2. to remind him not to listen to all these adulators and 3. to focus his work where it should be. I will not say more than that.
I do have to express my disappointment with Christians, though. They can be so gullible, so suggestible to power and charisma and public speaking prowess. This is nothing new; Paul complained of it in I and II Corinthians.
I can see the value of a thorn in the flesh myself as well. I do not have the physical strength I used to, nor the desire to conquer the world. My back hurts a lot. It is hard to get up in the morning. I am in a position to truly focus my activities and commitments.
My mother will start chemotherapy this week. This is not about me, but it feels like it, because I am the child who is here and who will take care of things. I need strength for that.
Someone I know, a very talented young man in the ministry whom I have prayed for that he not become proud, is going through physical weakness. This person has been treated like a superhero, the savior, the one-who-is-to-come. I believe the physical weakness is 1. to keep him from accomplishing what he would have otherwise simply in his physical body 2. to remind him not to listen to all these adulators and 3. to focus his work where it should be. I will not say more than that.
I do have to express my disappointment with Christians, though. They can be so gullible, so suggestible to power and charisma and public speaking prowess. This is nothing new; Paul complained of it in I and II Corinthians.
I can see the value of a thorn in the flesh myself as well. I do not have the physical strength I used to, nor the desire to conquer the world. My back hurts a lot. It is hard to get up in the morning. I am in a position to truly focus my activities and commitments.
My mother will start chemotherapy this week. This is not about me, but it feels like it, because I am the child who is here and who will take care of things. I need strength for that.
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