Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession, and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known, and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor. 2:12-3:6)

The context of the letter and the ‘Great Digression’
At the beginning of this passage, Paul mentions his departure for Macedonia – but it is not until four chapters later that he actually gets there! (2 Cor. 7:5) In between is what is sometimes called the ‘Great Digression,’ in which Paul defends his ministry as a result of a whole stack of criticism that the gifted but spiritually unruly Corinthian believers directed against him.

The people of Corinth had a reputation of being hard-drinking, loose living and resentful of authority, so it is no surprise that many of the converts brought these traits with them into the church. As Eugene Peterson puts in in his introduction to Corinthians in The Message, “When people become Christians, they don’t at the same moment become nice. This always comes as something of a surprise. Conversion to Christ and His ways doesn’t automatically furnish a person with impeccable manners and suitable morals.” Reports had reached Paul that members of the Corinthian congregation had fallen into immorality and division, and that even their worship had become self-indulgent.

When Paul challenged them, they didn’t refute his charges: they simply disputed his authority to do so. ‘Who are you to tell us what to do?’ Although some of the specific details are lost in the mists of time, there is much to benefit from in Paul’s defence of himself.

God gives authority to His leaders, and He expects them to use it. But as we all know, only too many leaders exert their authority in domineering and even abusive ways, crushing the people they lead, and failing to grow their own souls,

But Paul had learned a different kind of leadership from Jesus, a perfect balance of grace and truth, kindness and a firmness that was neither a laid back laissez faire ‘do what you like’ tolerance, nor an overweeningly restrictive set of dictates. Paul truly loved sinners even whilst hating sin, and he never denounced others without inwardly grieving and weeping over them. (Do take a look at 1 Cor. 11:28-30, and William Barclay’s reflection, ‘When a saint rebukes’ in his Daily Study Bible.)

Most organisations have their share of aspiring lieutenants who look at the captain on the bridge and reckon that they could do a better job. I have often noticed a pattern in church history, whereby the founder of great spiritual movements find themselves rejected and booted out at some point by the very people whom they themselves had raised up. But when overly ambitious and self-appointed people usurp the people God actually has appointed, many things are done that would have been much better left undone, and many things that would have been very good fail to see the light of day.

It is easy to see why some leaders become insular and defensive, paranoid even, refusing to trust their fellow leaders, or to delegate properly. But Paul was never like that; he was always eager to work with others in highly effective and honouring ways.

Even so, fending off challenges and sifting through criticisms to see if there be any kernel of truth in them can be wearying and stressful. (How do you cope with it?) Paul appealed to the Corinthian church to remember all that he had modelled as their pioneer apostle. At one point he asks, with some irony, if they need a letter of recommendation about him!

As we shall see, there really is a powerful role for recommending people and resources, but of all people, these believers should not have needed any such a thing. They may have had many teachers, but he was their spiritual father – and spiritual mothers and fathers have such an important role to play in the wellbeing of the Church. (1 Cor. 4:15)

We are blessed if we have spiritual fathers and mothers ourselves, and are willing to be such to others. May we sense, too, when we need to face things openly intervene in order to put the record straight, and when we are better off leaving matters entirely to the Lord. Knowing what is our part to play and what the Lord’s is one of the vital challenges that leaders face.

Being willing to lay aside a fruitful ministry
Right at the start of our passage, we read that the Lord had caused a door to open wide for Paul to minister in Troas – only to learn that Paul did not intend to stay to make the most of it. No wonder some people accused Paul of being fickle for changing his schedule. But though many of us may be fickle, Paul never was! (See my series on the important theme that God’s constancy being greater than our fickleness.) He was always concerned to discern the Lord’s hand and intentions so that he could say with Jesus, ‘I only do what I see My Father doing.’

Even so, it must have seemed as strange and disappointing to the believers in Troas that Paul should say goodbye to them just when so much was happening as it did to Jesus’ first disciples when He insisted on leaving Capernaum at the very moment when the Spirit was moving in great power. ‘There’s a revival on – surely God doesn’t want you to miss out on leading people to Christ and making more disciples?’ That could be a strong lure for a spiritually active preacher. But when the anointing to remain in a place lifts, the Lord permits a particular restlessness to develop in our spirits that we must be alert to.

It can often be harder to close something down that is going well, than to move on from something that is clearly running out of steam. Back in the late 1970s, I was leading a series of prayer and praise groups at Oxford University that were going really well, when the Lord said that if I was prepared to close them down, He would bring about something much more wonderful.

True to His promise, six months later the Lord called me to start up an entirely different set of meetings that reached far more people far more powerfully than the other groups could ever have done. Thanks be to God who always ‘leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession.’

The most obvious reason for Paul’s restlessness was his eagerness to find out how the church in Corinth had received his earlier letter of admonition. I think there may have been another factor at work here, though, and that is that Titus wasn’t there – and Paul knew that he had a prior calling to work with Titus, and that their partnership was more powerful even than what was happening in Troas.

May the Lord help us to discern His priorities, and to recognise when He is increasing a sense of restlessness in order to redirect us. May we have the courage then to act on His leading. l did.

The triumphal procession
We pride ourselves in Britain that we do big occasions well, but my goodness so did Rome! In these verses, Paul refers to one of those immensely impressive once-in-lifetime events that took place in the imperial city to celebrate some particularly mighty conquest that one of its generals had accomplished. William Barclay notes that,

‘The conditions a general had to fulfil to be awarded his own triumph were staggeringly high. He had to have been not the commander-in-chief who had extended the territory of the Roman empire and brought it under Roman law, and to have fought and won a major battle. In return he would be borne aloft through the city with Senate members in attendance, as well as leaders among the people had captured, and then followed by his own cheering army.’

First came the state officials in the Senate, then the trumpeters, followed by the spoils taken from the conquered land and along with models such as ships of the conquered land, plus a white bull that would be sacrificed, and then the captives and the lictors with their rods symbolising their authority. They in turn would be followed by the musicians with their lyres, and then the priests swinging their censers, and then came the General himself, followed by his army, with everyone wearing their medals and decorations and shouting “Io Triumphe!” (“Hail Triumphal Procession!”)

You can imagine what a supercharged atmosphere it would have been with the cheers and the euphoria and the fragrance of the incense – a smell that would have been intoxicating for the conquerors, as surely as it was a sign to the captives that they would shortly meet their fate. Why clutter up Roman jails when you could put on a show in the Colosseum to entertain the crowds who revelled in blood and gore?

In referencing the amazing spectacle of one of these Roman triumphs, Paul was perhaps meditating on Christ’s glorious march of triumph when He returns. And what a spectacle that will be! One which nothing and no one can prevent or counterfeit! All the same, it would be wise to warn that the enemy will try to counterfeit this. On several occasions Jesus and Paul warn that,

People will say, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day. (Matt. 17:23-24)

With the increasing sophistication of deep fake presentations, it is by no means beyond the bounds of possibility that some sort of staged AI ‘return of Christ’ could lead many astray. How we need to increase our discernment to meet the many challenges of our day!

Many years after Paul’s death, the Lord showed John on Patmos more about His coming to reign on Earth when the times will have reached their fulfilment. [1] This is when His kingdom will take over the kingdoms of this world, and bring its citizens under Christ’s direct rule.

As we read in Revelation 6:2, Jesus will return like a crowned ‘conqueror bent on conquest.’ Or, as Daniel foresaw, the time when ‘the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ (Dan 7:27)

Everything that Paul was teaching and modelling was preparing people (ourselves very much included!) to be worthy of a place in this heavenly kingdom, in which he himself will sure occupy a place of great honour.

Here’s a nice way to look at it that a friend suggested when I talked with him about this. He likened it to a football club’s procession through their city carrying their trophy aloft on an open top bus after winning a cup or title. The key players and participants, like Peter, Paul, James and John, will be there on the top deck of the bus, but everyone else who supports them can come into the city and celebrate with equal delight.

Rather than boasting of his hoped-for place, though, we find Paul exalting in His weakness. He is happiest calling himself a bondservant of Christ, even though he was the Lord’s leading apostle to the Gentile world.

When he looked at those who were emerging as the highly honoured superstars in the Corinthian church, Paul declared that it seemed to him as though God had put His true apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena.

“We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings,” he declared.’ “. . . We are weak, but you are strong! You are honoured; we are dishonoured! To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. (1 Cor. 4:10-13; see also 2 Cor. 6:4-10)

Jesus expects Christians are to be the light of any community by virtue of our faith and lifestyle, but throughout the centuries, it has often been the case that most of them have actually been exceedingly poor. It would be misleading to insist that this might be through some lack of faith on their part!

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities; in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in labour, sleepless nights, and hunger; in purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonour, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine; as unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Cor. 6:4-10)

Paul regarded himself as having been taken captive for Christ whom He now served, even though  the shadow of martyrdom extended over his ministry rather as the Cross overshadowed events in Jesus’ own life.

Paul knew that he was a trophy of the victory won by his General. He no longer belonged to himself, as it were, but to his Master. And we too are the trophies of Christ, whom He has redeemed and sought out with such effort to make His own.

Praise God, this is the only place in the world where we win eternally by surrendering ourselves to another. King Jesus has triumphed, the enemy has been defeated, and the victorious kingdom is now taking possession in the lives of those who have opened their hearts to Him in complete sincerity – as opposed to those who were then and still to this day are pedalling the gospel for the sake of profit and their own honour.

Paul wasn’t in the least bit interested in saying, ‘Look what I’ve done!’ Rather, his whole life proclaimed ‘To God be the glory!’ While he knew his own weakness and inadequacy, he trusted the Lord to enable him to continue to ‘expect great things of God and to attempt great things for Him,’ as William Carey put it.

Praise God for that man! William Carey was a young Northamptonshire cobbler, who laboured to learn languages, believing they might prove useful one day, and who later became the mighty father of Protestant missions. Just as we again and again have to say: ‘Be bold, be strong, for the Lord our God is with us wherever we go.’ Pray for boldness, pray for the discipline to dig deep as Carey did to learn the languages or whatever it is that we need to learn.

Rewards and rest in Heaven
Just to throw in a paradox here (there are so many of them in the Scriptures!) and that is the balance between rest and labour. People are used to thinking of going to heaven as it were to put their feet up. The word Paradise does indeed include a park-like feel to it, and many people had visions of this. After all, Revelation 14:13 does reassure us that we will rest from our labours, and our deeds will follow us, awaiting their reward.

The Lord does not hesitate to speak about rewards in Scripture, but the greatest of them is to be with Him and His people, and to be part of His purposes. The reward for a job well done is more responsibility – ruling over a number of cities, as Jesus put it in one of His parables. And that does not sound like putting your feet up!

There is also an important reference in Revelation to the heavenly city – and a city implies activity. That might not instinctively appeal, any more than the idea of endlessly singing worship songs! But this is surely because we have yet to glimpse and know the beauty of being one with the people of the Lord, and with Him whose presence imbues everything with His loveliness.

Scripture in no way views labour as a dreary drudge, but rather as a proper kingdom endeavour. When challenged about healing people on the Sabbath, you will remember that Jesus challenged his challengers by saying, ‘My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.’ (Jn. 5:17) Heaven, then, would appear to be both a place of rest and a hub of heavenly activity.

The really great news is that when the times have reached their fulfilment the heavenly city will come down and He will dwell among us, with all things in both heaven and earth brought together under one Head, even Christ Jesus – and ourselves chosen to be part of this glorious and momentous regime change. (Eph. 1:10-11) Wow! What a prospect. That really puts the whole concept of the Roman parade into perspective!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you . . . (1 Pet 1:3-4)

The incredible benefits of our inheritance in the Lord include being like Him when we see Him, and being like Him, too, in the sense of having new and perfect bodies. We can barely imagine, either, what it will be like to be at one not only with Jesus and the Father, but also with all who have ever loved Jesus, in perfect fellowship, untainted by jealousy, resentment or any other awkwardnesses.

As a young child, Therese of Lisieux was upset at the thought that not everyone would be equal in Heaven, and was afraid that those with lesser rewards might be unhappy. Her older and wiser sister immediately fetched a tumbler and a thimble, and filled them both with water. She told Therese that, although a tumbler is much larger than a thimble, when both are filled to the brim they are equally as full as can be. Likewise, we will each be equally full of God’s love as according to our own giftings and measure of faith and obedience in this life.

I love that image of the full thimble! We won’t all wear the outsize crown that will be given to people like Billy Graham – but there again we have not been given either his anointing or his platform. May we be good thimbles for Him – they are, after all, mighty useful little tools!

What then will our inheritance include? Being free from all pain, sickness, death, and wearying worldly grief and mourning, and being able to enjoy and experience all that He has in mind to share with His people. Hotels boast of offering free access to WiFi, but there we will have access to both the knowledge that comes from the Tree of Life, and the healing properties of the River of Life. How wonderful is that?!

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4-6)

There are also promises of special positions being specifically assigned to certain believers. For example, Jesus promised His initial disciples that they will sit on thrones judging the tribes of Israel. (Matt. 19:28) That sounds like being magistrates rather than majesties! Those who are appointed to rule in the Millennium do so as the reward for their faithful service in this life.

The main point we should be taking from all these passages that glimpse these are how things will be is to make the most of the time we have, for it glorifies Jesus and has an eternal consequence in terms of our rewards! Our ruling and reigning with Him then is directly related to our faithfulness in doing what He has asked of us now.

The fragrance of Christ
Paul speaks of the fragrance of Christ, which reminds us of the importance of the sense of smell, and the fact that we all give off an ‘aroma,’ for better or worse.

Of all the senses, none impact us more swiftly than scent. Scent lingers longest in our subconscious memories, and smells can bring back vivid remembrances of certain places and events, even those of our childhood. I have met quite a number of Christians over the years who have had experiences of being suddenly aware of a beautiful fragrance – lilies for instance – when there was nothing about to give rise to it.. As I was being wheeled down for an operation thirty years ago, it wasn’t the pervasive smell of anaesthesia that I was aware of, but rather the fragrance of the wood fire of our favourite Lake District holiday cottage. It was the Lord’s kind and reassuring presence at a vulnerable time.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord’s presence affects people in vastly different ways. We love the aroma of Christ that rises from the hearts of those who love Jesus deeply and who look like Him. Even the walls of a building long prayed in can minister the fragrance of His peace. But that same smell of Christ’s presence that is such a blessing to those who love Him, is poison to those Christ-deniers and Christ-haters. And for those who are wrapped up in on their own agendas, beliefs and philosophies, being exposed to the Lord’s presence can be a highly discomforting experience.

Paul, however, longed for his life to be a sweet perfume to the Lord, so that he might point the way to the Lord whom he loved above all else.

Praise God for the fragrance of lives well lived for God! Let someone come to mind who you have seen or known whose Christlikeness stands out. What is it about them that attracts you? Is it their knowledge? Or, more likely, their concern for you? Their kindness, tenderness and purity rather than just how much they know – though that may come into it.

May we continue to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ. And may He sharpen our own sensitivity to our smell-scape, so that we are able to pick up in our spirit when someone is in distress, in need of prayer or a call. Or when the Lord is asking us to gird up our loins and input into certain situations and peoples’ lives. And to the spiritual realities of a situation – may we be quick to smell a rat – and to recognise it for what it is!

Whether we like it or not we are influencing people towards or against Christ. It either quite a sobering or a wonderful thought that we are the only Bible that many of the people we rub shoulders with will ever read.

The very salt that brings out flavour and that acts as a preservative also stings on an open wound. People used to rub salt onto the backs of people who had been flogged both to protect against infection but also to increase the pain. And Jesus said that we are salt of the earth and a light to the world, which means that we will be deeply helpful to some, and off-putting in equal measure to those who are determined to reject Him.

But who is qualified for such a task? Paul asks, before immediately answering his own question:

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

Criticism, such as Paul had been facing in Corinth, can have a devastating effect on sensitive people, causing them to doubt themselves, even to the point of feeling an imposter. There’s a whole syndrome people speak about as a result of it, and that very many feel – even those who have achieved considerable success and fame. The imposter spirit is a very real and unsettling thing, and one that affects many believers at one time or another.

Statistics show that women are particularly susceptible to the Imposter Syndrome, although I think that what many people are experiencing here is not just a sense of condemnation for what they have failed to be or to do, but something that they are made to feel that way by forces that are present in society: misogyny, sexism and racism being amongst the most prominent culprits in that regard.

Like its close associate condemnation, if you don’t suffer from it, you may be inclined to wonder what all the fuss is about; those who do, know exactly just how heavy it is.

May the Lord help us to know that He has qualified us to be part of His kingdom and to serve Him well!

Earlier generations affirmed that ‘Sticks and stones can break your bones but words can never hurt.’ Our own culture tells an entirely different story. But look what happens when we recommend people, as Paul does: almost all of his letters include verses in which he commends and praises his fellow workers, building them up and encouraging others.

Suppose somebody says to you, “Arthur is the most Christ-like person I have ever met!” Just think how that makes you think about Arthur from then on! But suppose instead they had said, “Arthur is not what he appears!” or to diss him in some other way. Then how would you view him?

It is good to be generous in believing the best about people. What we say about them cannot but influence the way we and others think of them. Does it besmirch them, or turn others against them? Whether out of schadenfreude (which is effectively a sadistic pleasure at portraying people in a bad light) or to compensate for something that is lacking in their own lives, some people – even believers – delight to pass on information not as fuel for prayer but because it fires our own self-importance. We even manage to hide from ourselves the reality of what we are doing. But passing these snippets of information on has the potential to cause irreparable damage to someone’s reputation – so much so that the Lord warns clearly elsewhere through servant Paul: If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Gal 5: 15)

It is so important to be thoughtful and prayerful about what we share about others. Wise to ask the question, ‘Do we need to share this?’

The more generous we are in our assessment of others, the more it is likely to help them to grow in confidence, and in their calling. Some of us are so afraid of falling into the trap of flattering people that we hold back too much, and fail to express even half the affirming things that we could and should be saying to each other. Text them, ring, them, say it in a card, visit them! Don’t wait until they have moved away or died!

The competency and confidence that God gives those who are seeking Him sincerely
Who is sufficient for such a calling? Of ourselves, none of us! But one of the great titles of God is El Shaddai. The Almighty – but which can also mean the All-Sufficient One: God makes us sufficient for the tasks He has in mind for us.

Many people understandably question their sufficiency, some to the point where they succumb to the feeling of being utterly unworthy imposters, forgetting that Jesus has qualified us to serve in His kingdom. We sometimes withdraw ourselves from certain things believing that we are not ready for them, or that we can’t do them. At times that may be humility and wisdom, but it may also be robbing both God, ourselves and others of seeing what God can do when we give everything to Him. We are far more elastic than we often realise! Remember William Carey: ‘Attempt great things for God and expect great things from Him.’

What Paul is seeking to do is to reassure us concerning the competency that God gives, and the confidence that He wants those who are seeking Him sincerely to enjoy. Praise God that He makes us competent and sufficient to be ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit!

This is where we have to dig deep and affirm that Jesus not only qualifies us to be part of His Kingdom, but is sufficient for our every need and circumstance; and to give us sufficient confidence to keep pressing in to serve Him, no matter who or what may be opposing us. Dig deep!

Thank the Lord that He sees and knows all that we say and are attempting to do, even though it is so easy to feel that we fall woefully short of the mark, and not the least bit competent, let alone worthy, to fulfil such a high calling. Indeed, we often feel ashamed.

Father, help me to fend off and overcome these horrible feelings that the Accuser of the Brethren delights to hurl my way, and which have ground me down. Lord, loose me from their power, I pray! Please win through and overrule the reluctance of my soul and flesh to accomplish the works You have planned for me and which my spirit says a whole-hearted ‘Yes’ to.

Paul defends his ministry
Paul had learnt to be all things to all people in his bid to win them to Christ, varying his approaching as he reaches out to suit his audience, as well as to different personality types. What worked well in Athens would not have been the right approach for another city. It is important to note that he did not adjust his message out of a desire to please, or out of fear of the consequences.

Paul was certainly not afraid of standing up for the truth, nor bound by that fear of man that is a snare to the soul. For far too many of us, however, the devil takes full advantage of this, and encourages people to back peddle, theoretically ‘so as not to offend people’ but in reality because we are living in bondage to the fear of man. You may have noticed how relatively few churches there are these days that say anything about such vital themes as judgement or even mission.

It is important for us to keep our knowledge of the Word of God fresh as well as deep so that the Lord can draw on our knowledge of all the Scriptures. Paul had studied them as a young man and now, as a mature believer, he could see how they all flowed together: the law, the writings, the prophets, and all he had come to know about Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. May we follow in his footsteps. (And what a blessing it is to us to have so many excellent tools and Bible study aids to help us!)

With his eye firmly on the heavenly crown that would be his eternal prize, Paul was determined to keep preaching the whole counsel of God. There is nothing in wrong in looking forward to our heavenly reward, unless we start obsessing about our place in the Lord’s s roll call of honour, which is not for us to know. John Wimber used to say that he had an audience of one: he was only concerned with God Himself.

Hypocritical peddlers or harbingers of truth?
Who is sufficient in the face of such an immense but serious calling? Back in 1980, when we were knocking on doors to invite people to meetings hosted by Billy Graham, many people used to say, “He’s only in it for the money.” That was so unfair and untrue; his lifestyle was exemplary.It is concerning that people’s levels of discernment are woefully low. So many, for instance, mistakenly called Gorbachev out as being the Antichrist because of a spot on his forehead. Can we really not do better than that? It is ever more important to be able to discern by what spirit people are speaking and operating, and policies are being enacted.

Paul knew what it was to be accused of being a peddler, but here was a man who never asked for money and who never watered his message down – unlike the wine merchants who diluted their wares. The Holy Spirit had worked to make Paul transparently sincere, and deeply concerned that after preaching to others he should not be disqualified himself.

It is so good to spend time with people who you know to be truly sincere; always the same deep down, however much they may be being tossed about by specific happenings in their lives . We know and trust that their heart direction is always the same, toward the Lord and toward us. But there are no shortage of people who really are willing to use religion as a cover for their won agendas, and who pretend to be what they are not. The day will come when their masks will be stripped away, just like the masks that Greek actors ‘hypocrites’ wore to make them appear as their acted parts rather than their true selves.

By the way, it is not hypocrisy to preach the faith and Spirit-filled truth even though we ourselves so often fall short of it. Before John Wesley’s great conversion experience, at a time when he was wondering whether he should stop preaching, a Moravian friend said to him, ‘Preach faith until you’ve got it, and then because you have it you will preach faith.’

May we like Paul not only love and serve Christ ourselves with all our hearts, but raise others to do so too, to the very best of their ability and potential, without fear of breaking through constraining limitations and expectations. Many years ago, I was invited to lead a weekend of ministry for Christians in an East German town. As I arrived there, the Lord whispered to me, ‘This isn’t Dresden!’ where we had experienced great freedom and blessing in ministering both to the joint churches and to classical musicians. I sensed the power of the Lord coming strongly in the first meeting, and opened it up for a time of ministry instead of preaching. Many were touched deeply.

But immediately after the meeting I saw the two organisers of the conference bearing down on me. ‘We are very angry with you,’ they said, and you could see from their faces that they were: ‘You did not preach the message printed on the brochure!’ I pointed to all the people who were being blessed but that cut no ice: all that mattered to them was doing what it said on the tin. Perhaps it was excusable given the impositions these brothers and sisters from East Germany had so recently been released from, but for it was an example of coming up against what I termed the ‘Prussian’ spirt – a real-life example of the letter of the law being considered more important than the Spirit.

Praise God for those who are prepared to think and act outside the box, not randomly or rebelliously, but as the Spirit leads. It takes courage to do this, and, in all probability, we won’t always get it right. But the Lord honours our trying.

Of ourselves none of us is either competent or qualified to be as Christ to people or to preach Him to others, but Jesus qualifies us to be His ministers. Pray to be able to recognise the competence and authority that God has given you as well as that in others. Some people, for instance, are gifted in the arts. And while it is true that there are those who overinflate their importance, so that they worship the thing created rather than the Lord of creation, there are perhaps even more who regard them as being secular and unimportant, and who dismiss their relevance in worship and the life of the church. Yet God specifically commissioned artists to craft the tabernacle. (See Ex. 35:35, for example.) May we not not debar those whom God delights in!

C.S Lewis knew that God had shown him in vision form and Narnia stories before ever he set out to write them. So too did Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which Tolstoy declared one of the great achievements of the human mind, and which did so much to advance the freedom of slaves. Despite selling 300,000 copies in its first year, Harriet refused to take credit, and explained that the Lord had written it and that she ‘was just the humblest instrument in His hand. To Him alone be the praise.’

Paul knew that he was commissioned to bring the gospel to new places – and he even cried that it was woe to him not to preach it. (1 Cor. 9:16) But he had an equally great desire to see people come to maturity in Christ. As he put it in Galatians, he felt as though he was in labour to see Christ fully formed in them. (Gal. 4:19) He longed that all should qualify’ to take part in Christ’s triumphant procession.

The power of recommendations
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? (2 Cor. 3:1)

While it was the case that Paul found himself defending his ministry, for his own part, he never failed to recommend and praises his fellow workers, as all his letters testify. And he counted the Corinthian believers his actual certificate, his ‘living epistles.’ Letters of recommendation, certificates and qualifications can never be the ultimate endorsement. It is having a heart that is open to the Lord, that is being transformed by Him, that matters. Paul knew just how strategic he had been in creating and nurturing the church in Corinth – but he didn’t try and use that as a lever for personal gain or influence.

His willingness to go many extra miles in order to reach people and see their lives changed continues to bear fruit to this day and, rather as I once heard Billy Graham confessing that, like any other 60 year old, there were times when he would much rather spend his time playing golf than traipsing around the world, he did not consult his own convenience. Nothing about Paul’s life was ‘convenient,’ and much was often exceedingly painful. But still  he kept going, refusing to put his feet up. The love of Christ constrained him to preach the gospel and to pursue his ministry. Like Peter, his whole desire was to be a ‘shepherd of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager.’

To sum up . . .
Firstly, we saw Paul resolving not to stay in Troas because he knew he was meant to be working in partnership with Titus. He had no desire to be a one-man-show, and delighted in the variety and richness of teams made up of different personalities and giftings, despite the fact that is not necessarily comfortable. (For instance, because there are more ministries than only pastors and teachers, we need prophetic people who see what the Spirit is doing and wanting to do over the horizon. And we need the pastors who implement the vision at ground level and care for the people: the finest teams operate through a nuanced tension and balance.)

Secondly, drawing on the image of a Roman victory parades, we thought about directing our lives towards being part of Christ’s procession in glory at the end of time.

Then we moved on to identify with the apostle in wondering how we can hope to be competent in fulfilling the calling God has placed on us? And then sharing in his joy in the fact that Jesus not only qualifies us to be part of His Kingdom, but is sufficient for our every need and circumstance! He gives confidence to those who are sincere about seeking Him, as opposed to those horrible shame-filled feelings that in truth we are ‘imposters.’ Our thimbleful really does count!

Don’t forget the power of godly recommendation!

Paul may have felt like a nobody at times, as if he were right at the back of the queue, but in God’s eyes, his name will be honoured for all eternity as God’s faithful witness. Even though we may receive no reward in the here and now, it is so important to keep going, and to keep sowing. Our ovation can wait; now is the time to keep sowing: our labour for the Lord is not in vain.

Thank You Lord for Paul’s faithfulness in his calling, we be faithful too in ours.

[1] Rev. 5:5-10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
Rev 20:4 we read of the martyrs who came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Rev. 2:25-26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations.