Verse By Verse Devotional On 2 Corinthians By Pastor Jack #22

Reason for Boasting

1:14b "...that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus."

Again it is not easy to figure out exactly what Paul is referring to here. It is clear from his letters that the Corinthians were Paul’s boast both at that present time and would be on the last day. That is, Paul is proud of these believers and of the fact that he has contributed to their birth and growth in Christ (e.g. 1Cor.15:31), and he knows that on the day of Christ’s return He will have reason to glory on account of them (e.g. Phil.2:16). But which of these Paul is referring to here (or both) is hard (for me) to tell.

It is also clear that Paul expects the Corinthians to boast in him, but again it is hard to tell whether he means now or on the last day.

Either way there are lessons for us to learn here:

1- There will come a day when we will receive the reward of our labors in the Lord. There will come a day when every work done for Christ will be a trophy set in our trophy case, a jewel in our crown.

2- It is not only the leader/teacher/shepherd who will boast in the fruit of his labors. The follower/student/sheep will also boast in the way he responded to, encouraged, well-treated, and made good use of the input of his shepherd.

"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." (Heb.13:7)

On the last day, the leaders will give an account of how they kept watch over the flock, and the people will give an account as to how they made the leaders’ job a joy.

When each of us appears before Christ on that last day, we will have to give an account not for what our circumstances were, or who our leaders or followers were, but for how we impacted them, how we treated them, how we helped them, how we encouraged them, how we received them.

These Corinthian believers were given the extraordinary privilege of knowing and being taught by and coming to Christ through the apostle Paul. This should have been their high boast. Think about how many people would have loved to stand in their position. At least at this time, they didn’t seem to appreciate it much.

Well, each of us has been given extraordinary privileges by God in terms of leaders and opportunities and resources and helps. Let us make sure we treat these not lightly, but faithfully, as unto the Lord. Then, we will have those things/persons to boast in on the day of our Lord Jesus.

Father, forgive me for my failure to appreciate so many gifts You have given me. Forgive me for focusing on the problems in the people You have put around me and missing so many of the positives. Thank You for my family, my friends, my associates, my church. Help me to treat them in such a way that I will be able to boast in them on the last day when all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.