May 21 | 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Kathleen Serio
May 20
3 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Connections

By Kathleen Serio

When I first read this passage, my head started spinning with all the other Bible verses and lessons that Paul was reinforcing with the Corinthian Christians. My first thought was regarding the Armor of God and how God tells us stand firm with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10-20) My second thought was with the lessons found in the Beatitudes where Jesus tells us that we are blessed when we are persecuted because of righteousness because then the kingdom of heaven is ours. (Matthew 5:1-12) My next thought was how Paul’s words ask the Corinthians to speak with open hearts and show affection as children do. Jesus said “Let the little children come to me … Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:13-16) Lastly, Jesus told his disciples that those who leave their earthly possessions to follow Him will be rewarded in heaven; that the first will be last and the last will be first. (Matthew 19:16-30).

Wow. That is a lot. Then I wondered how many more lessons are hidden in this passage? I know that different people will gain different insights from reading the same passages, but it was not until I read Bible passages with my small group that I truly experienced it. What did you see? When I researched this passage, the commentators said Paul was urging the Corinthian church members to open their hearts. Why? Because the Corinthian church had not always been supportive of Paul, nor had they been able to get along well with one another. The Corinthian church needed to be mindful of God’s grace and the opportunity to be saved. God’s power is strong and the Corinthians need to embrace God’s gift of salvation.

Paul is urging the Corinthians, and us, to do our job as God’s servants to spread His love and Gospel, and to do so with our own hearts open and ready to love others as God has loved us. Jesus commands us to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34-35).

All of the lessons this passage holds lead back to one key idea: God has given us a gift and He wants us to share that gift with others. God has given us each and every tool that we need to complete this mission. We are armed by God to fight the good fight, and we are not to fight alone. We are God’s army made of many who all are called to stand together, to open our hearts, learn from each other, grow from each other, rely on each other, and be bound in His love.

PRAYER

God thank you for giving us your Word. Thank you for all the different ways your Word teaches us and reinforces concepts you want us to know. Help us to open our hearts and bring more people to you. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KATHLEEN SERIO

I grew up at UALC and have been blessed to have many role models in this church. They encouraged me to pursue my passions including volunteering with Young Kids’ VBS, HSM, teaching Sunday School, small groups, Operation Christmas Child, mission trips, ushering, and more. It has been a joy to go from participating in ministries as a kid to becoming a leader as an adult.