Uncomfortably Comfortable
I’ve always found it strange that American evangelical churches hold up the very hallmarks (goals, blessings, proofs of spiritual superiority, etc.) that scripture says we are not to focus on. Think about it. There are a lot of’em…
- Wealth
- Power
- Pride (Have you no pride?!)
- Independence
- Comfort
- Perfect Health
There are more, but these are the sexy six. Today, as I was reading, I stumbled on to one of those ‘inconvenient truths’ (as Al Gore likes to call’em) that must not be in the average American’s Bible. It speaks to the ‘comfort’ goal.
It’s found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
I’m so glad we have a heavenly Father who cares enough to comfort us when we grieve, when we hurt, are sad, or just feel lost and confused—God is good! But God is also after more than a warm fuzzy for us. When He gives us the peace that passes all understanding He’s giving us a gift the world cannot know—but desperately wants and needs.
So, should we keep the comfort to ourselves?
No, comfort needs to be the ‘gift that keeps on giving.’ To keep it to ourselves would be like having the cure for some (thought to be) incurable disease—in your pocket and spending all your time around desperate, scared and hopeless people who have that disease yet…DO NOTHING to help them!
Sound cold and unthinkable?
Yet that’s exactly what many believers do who work their whole life to be insulated, taken care of, need free, and yes, comfortable while the rest of the world is hurting and on their way to Hell.
The text couldn’t be any plainer—we are comforted because our Father in heaven cares when we hurt. But we are also comforted so that we can see the hurting, desperate and lost in their pain and discomfort and use our new found understanding of God’s love and peace and “comfort” to comfort them.
Who will you encourage and comfort today?