CLOSING THOUGHTS
2 Corinthians 13:11 CSB
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
It appears that when Paul comes to the end of his letters, he has a conglomeration of thoughts that he wants to convey but does not have the time to elaborate. This results in a list of very vital things that are worth a closer look.
Finally, rejoice. That is a short, succinct instruction. It sounds similar in tone to, oh yeah, rejoice, as if rejoicing is the norm for believers. Telling the church to rejoice is one of Paul’s bedrock beliefs. It was Paul who wrote to rejoice in the Lord always. And then he doubles down with repeating the command to rejoice. Paul is assuming that the Corinthians have been given plenty of reasons to rejoice, so he is simply reminding them to do it. Don’t overthink it. Just rejoice.
Become mature. This is the growth process that Paul was convinced was a vital part of the Christian life. The believer starts as young in the Lord but has the capacity to grow to maturity. Paul does not elaborate on how to become mature, but it will involve a growth in the knowledge of God and His grace.
Be encouraged. I love this. Having the tendency myself to be short and to the point, I can appreciate Paul’s admonishment. He does not list reasons to be encouraged, but again, he may have been working off of what was already written. Rejoice. Become mature. Be encouraged. Any questions? No? Good. However, we do have to take into account that Paul is making no room at all for the believers in Corinth to be sad, immature, and despondent. He had already given them a list of the hardships he endured while sharing the gospel. So, since he was rejoicing, mature, and encouraged, he expected the church to follow along in the same vein.
Be of the same mind and be at peace. In context, the church at Corinth was the group that had divided themselves according to their favorite preachers. They were the believers that Paul said, in his first letter, were flesh-ruled and strife-filled. Maybe they had adjusted by the time this second letter came, but in any case, this is a good reminder. Be united in the same mindset and live in peace with each other. Often, these Christian communities were isolated from their pagan neighbors and needed the unity and peace that living in Christ made available. If we are going to reach the lost world, we need to be different. And peace and like-mindedness are vastly different from the culture that lives apart from God.
God is with us all the time. But to live in His presence, we need to operate in His ways. Paul gave a short list of how to live with the presence of God being more real and tangible in our lives. It starts with rejoicing and growing in maturity, staying encouraged by what God has done for us, and walking in love and peace with fellow believers. This is a great list and a great way to start our week.
What can you practice this week from this list? Make a start and see where God meets you.