Ennathinks

Do you know that the 1 Corinthians we have in our hand is actually the second Corinthian correspondence — and the 2 Corinthians we have in our hand is the fourth? Yes, do not get shocked.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to a previous letter he had already written to the church, and his current letter is a reply to their response. After that, he had to face an ugly encounter with the Corinthian church where his authority was questioned — particularly by one person — and the church did not stand up for him. Paul was deeply hurt. So he wrote a third letter, known as the “painful letter.” He sent it with Titus and was eagerly waiting to meet Titus at Troas to hear how the Corinthian church had received it. When that meeting did not happen, Paul moved on to Macedonia — his route changed, possibly due to weather — and there he finally met Titus. The news was good. The church had accepted the letter. Reconciliation had happened. Joy and peace returned to Paul.

For a missionary, few things bring greater joy than seeing a broken relationship restored.

2 Corinthians is the most personal letter Paul ever wrote — and it is deeply counter-cultural. Roman culture demanded that leaders present themselves as supermen, always strong, always commanding. Paul does the opposite. He lays bare his vulnerability, his failures, his sufferings. One phrase captures his entire ministry: “Conflicts without and fears within.”(2 Cor. 7:5,6).  It is a letter unlike any other in the New Testament.

In chapter 8, Paul addresses the collection — a financial gift being raised for the Jewish believers in Jerusalem who were facing poverty. When the Corinthian believers were in good relationship with Paul, they were genuinely excited about this. They had volunteered. They had started contributing. But then the relationship with Paul soured and they quietly stopped.

Now, reconciled, Paul writes to them: “In this matter I am giving my opinion: it is beneficial for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something. Now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.” (2 Cor. 8:10,11, NRSV).

There it is. A good work — a common cause, helping brothers and sisters in need — had been abandoned because of a personal relationship that had gone cold. The mission suffered because of personal grievance.

This speaks to us directly as mission supporters. How many of us began supporting a work with genuine enthusiasm — a church plant, a Bible translation project, a missionary family, a school in a tribal belt — and then quietly stopped? Perhaps a relationship with the organisation became strained. Perhaps we heard something that unsettled us. Perhaps we simply drifted. The need did not change. The work did not stop needing support. But we stepped back.

Paul’s word to the Corinthians is his word to us: “Now finish doing it.” That is not a command barked from a distance. It is a serious, pastoral encouragement from someone who knows that personal feelings, left unchecked, will always find a reason to withdraw from the common good.

Do not let a personal issue become an obstacle to a Kingdom cause. The people waiting at the other end of your giving did not cause your grievance. They are simply waiting.

Finish What You Started

Paul’s concern was never merely to win an argument in Corinth. He wanted the gospel to move beyond Corinth. Relationships mattered. Reconciliation mattered. Giving mattered. But all of them mattered because there were still places where Christ was not yet known.

Perhaps some of us need to revisit a commitment we once made and abandoned. Perhaps some need to stop comparing and start supporting again. The mission has not stopped. The need has not disappeared. The people waiting at the other end are still waiting.

Finish what you started.

References: 1 Cor. 5:9; 7:1; 2 Cor. 2:3,4; 2:12,13; 7:5–14