Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
This idea of boasting in weakness is not one that is very intuitive for human people. How we live our lives on a day to day basis is really centered on what we bring to the table or what we can offer the world. Our gift set, our abilities, the things that we make and produce sort of become a mark on who we are. Our identity in its very essence is interwoven with what we do.
Just that, as an idea juxtaposed against what Paul is saying in this verse, is already inherently challenging. That there would be some way that I would boast or be proud of my weakness is not instinctive to our human nature. To look at this verse in its purity is important so that we can really grasp it and live from it in our own situations.
Paul's Thorn in the Flesh
The thing that Paul is referring to as we jump into this verse, where it says "each time he said," is referring to Paul's plea to God that He would take away what is known as the thorn in the flesh. He's begging God that this thorn that he has been allowed to keep is affecting his life in such a way that it causes him to become dependent on God even more. What he says is this thorn remains so that he will remain humble and connected.
The thing that's interesting about this verse is a lot of people, scholars, theologians, and pastors have mused about what this thorn in the flesh might have been and how it could have been so effective in keeping Paul humble. When I think about the life of Paul, I think about how he made a lot of decisions prior to his encounter with Jesus that absolutely would bring on guilt and shame in any human being that would look realistically at what they have done.
Paul's Past and God's Grace
This man, Paul, was responsible for the capture, the torture, and the diminishing of the message of the people of the way of Jesus. Paul aggressively was against the message of Christ and in his own righteousness pursued suppression of this message, furthering in the towns and villages surrounding. Paul gave his life to the crushing of the people of Jesus, and now has an encounter with this Jesus Himself.
When he meets Jesus, it changes everything about his life. Now this Paul is a part of the faith community that he was responsible for persecuting only mere months and years before. Can you imagine what type of potential guilt and shame would arise at the thought of your brothers and sisters in Christ being the same people that at one point you aggressively attempted to stop?
If I'm honest, when I think about the thorn in Paul's flesh, it was this awareness that in his own strength, he made decisions that were absolutely against the way of Jesus. Because of the grace of God, he has a renewed sense of purpose and hope. This thorn is the remembrance that in his own strength he is not able to sustain, but by the grace of God and His forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit, he can live in rhythm with the way of Jesus.
Grace for Our Past
Today I think about our lives prior to following Jesus, and how sometimes there can be potential guilt and shame that will try to weigh us down. Let us remember that in our weakness, in our human deficiency, we remember the power of God is on display not because of us, but because of Him.
