“when i came to troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because i did not find my brother titus there. so i took leave of them and went on to macedonia.” [2 corinthians 2:12-13.]
paul is distracted from the work of the ministry, or at least the evangelizing opportunities that are immediately before him, because he is preoccupied with the difficulties of the corinthian church. paul longs for this tension to be resolved, for the brother’s and sister’s in that church to be united in Christ and in accord with him and the content of his ministry in Christ.
we are members of another, when one part of the body is in turmoil, it affects the whole. we are many temples, but one church. the health of the whole body is as much an opportunity for anxiety as the health of our own spirit.
paul may have neglected opportunities in troas out of a weakness of spirit, but he can at least be commended in that this weakness was brought about by a prevailing concern for another congregation of believers. could you and i say the same? on every side of us, there are whole congregations of professing Christians who are succumbing to the influence of the world and the pernicious lies of the enemy. they have wandered away from Christ and pursued a false gospel, procuring their own teachings, tailor-made to their own fleshly desires. the truth has become unbearable to them, they can only stomach the counterfeit.
we may zealously rebuke their false doctrines, but how many of us are pleading to God on their behalf? how many of us are so concerned for them that we are tempted to neglect other, more immediate, opportunities for sharing the gospel? how many of us have any desire whatsoever to go to these men and women and toil for them?
this wednesday, marc outlined a new direction for us, as a church, to engage in through prayer – the repentance and godly revival of our nation. this is not done to create an american theocracy, but for the souls of many to be won for Christ. intercede today for the lost, the godless, the unrepentant. plead for the churches that the enemy has claimed to return to Christ. may we find each other active in this labor, that our spirits may find rest, and be refreshed to pursue the doors God has opened for His word.
~ graham bachman