Devotional for Adults November 25, 2016 A Story of Two Saul - 2

Devotional for Adults
November 25, 2016

A Story of Two Saul - 2

"But he said to me," My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. " Therefore, I will gladly show off my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may remain upon me. " 2 Corinthians 12: 9, NIV.

THERE IS A DARK CHAPTER in the life of the second "Saul" which is seldom reviewed and yet perhaps contains the greatest secret of humility. The newly converted Paul disappeared for several years. Reconstructing what was recorded in the New Testament, we came to the conclusion that he ended up in his hometown of Tarsus. While Paul was there, God granted him extraordinary visions. That divine concession precipitated one of the great crises and principles of humility.

"I know a man in Christ that fourteen years ago (if in the body, I do not know, if I were outside the body, I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven" (2 Cor 12: 2). Paul uses the same literary figure as John intentionally hiding himself, with humility, in the third person. But by his description it is clear that through visions Paul was granted personal access to paradise, where he heard and saw "unspeakable things" (see 4, NIV). With this singular divine privilege, God placed in the hands of his friend a new proof: "To prevent me from becoming presumptuous by these sublime revelations, a thorn was thrust into my body, that is, a messenger of Satan, to torment me "(Verse 7, NIV). The Greek word translated "thorn" is not used for the crown of thorns of Christ, but rather describes a fragment of wood nailed to the flesh, like a splinter under the nail.

Since Paul says of her that he was "in the body," the scholars have collected a series of keys from all of Paul's epistles (from the Galatians who offered him their own eyes, referring to the use of an amanuensis or clerk by the Apostle [Gal. 4: 15], to his statement at the end of the epistle which he sent to the believers: "Behold how great I write unto you out of my hand" (Galatians 6:11) That Paul suffered from an affliction of sight. Was it the physical consequence of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus? We do not know. But it is clear that this was a constant reminder of his limitations and his physical deficiency, which made him depend on others for his service functions and caused inconveniences, hot flashes and painful discomfort. It is not surprising that Paul describes the source of such problems as a demonic angel ( "messenger of Satan") "to torment me." Why such pain? "To keep me from becoming pretentious," that is, to keep me humble. Could it be that suffering, sometimes, is a divinely permitted antidote to our pride? And, could we, like Paul, reach the point where we glory in him?