Original: January 1, 2008
McMinnville, OR
3 We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 2 Corinthians 6: 3-10
Remember, you cannot have endurance without seeing the “end” at the beginning. Steven Covey in his popular book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People lists “begin with the end in mind” as one of his seven successful habits. It is true that we must see the end at the beginning to have endurance, but we must also be able to touch, feel, and experience the sweetness of finishing. In another popular Christian book, Nine Things you Simply Must do author Henry Cloud admonishes readers in Principle #3 to “Play the Movie.”
I love that one. One of my favorite sayings to men came from Cloud’s principle, “Have you played that out?”
Last week (See original entry date) my eleven, nearly twelve, year-old son Darby and I went water fouling at a friends duck pond. After an hour of shooting we had three Mallards and one Canadian Honker, specifically a Cackler, in our bag. But Darby, getting bored, wanted to pull up the decoys and head for home. Wanting my boys to have positive youth hunting experiences, I hesitantly agreed but told him to begin pulling up the “dekes” as I went and got the truck.
You know what happened next.
As soon as I walked off the pond three curious Mallards with all landing gears down began to circle our spread, but quickly flew off as they watched a 100 pound dirt clod named Darby moving around in the decoys! When I returned two more Mallards were moving in as well!
If only we had been patient. If only we could see the “end” of the hunt at the beginning, and were willing to endure to completion (Philippians 1:6). If only we had played the movie before the movie played us! If only, if only, if only- don’t you get sick of hearing that from people who have been “discredited” (3) for throwing in the towel too soon?
Take a moment to read 2 Corinthians 6:3-10. As Paul “commends” his ministry he lists several things he and his co-laborers had gone through in order to add value to their ministry that it may not be “discredited.” The first in Paul’s long and prestigious list of accreditation is, of course, endurance. But Paul does more than simply list endurance as a credit to his ministry. It is the only item on his list that has the word “great” in front of it.
In other words, Paul draws special attention to the value of endurance not only by listing it first, which was of utmost importance to the people of this culture, but in sharing with the Corinthian believers that quite possibly their endurance was not only good but great, exceptional and bar none! He may have been trying to tell them, “See I have great endurance too since it is such a high standard of yours.” From a quick reading of 1 Corinthians it is clear that this was, indeed, a church that had issues to overcome. Issues, as we know, do not go away overnight but take time and endurance to overcome.
How do you endure?
Better yet, how will you endure? Are you historically a quitter, a weak finisher, a vocational transient, an excuse maker? Be honest. Only by an honest assessment can we fix character flaws.
Or, can you like Paul claim “great endurance” to your list of commendations?
