Courage for Christ - 8

2Cor 10:10 "For his letters," they say, "are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."



The author of a book is about to make a speech. You have read his book, a magnificent teaching on the word of God. Yet as he arrives at the podium, you notice his appearance to be disheveled. He’s a short, fat, bald guy who appears to be hunchbacked. He needs guidance to make it to the podium because he is nearly blind. Then as he starts to speak, you are frustrated in that his speech is so slurred or with such a heavy accent you find it very difficult to understand. And now you are thinking, “why am I wasting my time? This man is nothing in person!”


This would be the Apostle Paul. The same Paul who was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, left in the open sea, bitten by poisonous snakes, yet persevered to the finish line for Christ; which in his case, was a beheading.

All too often we judge the outside appearance of someone. And all too often we miss a great blessing because of our judgments. (Prejudices are just that; pre judging someone based often on nothing more than different appearance or a foreign accent.) Didn’t you like his written words? What is really wrong with his spoken words?

Don’t be afraid to share God’s word with others; regardless of circumstances, and freely receive (with discernment – see 2John and Jude for details) others who share God’s word with you. – regardless of any preconceived notion you may have of them - based on what you might assume. This is how we strengthen one another.