The Heart of a Lover of Christ!

[Ovedya]

Reading through the following verses this morning I was impressed by the genuine love and care for the churches displayed by our brother Paul, who was truly a lover of the Lord Jesus, despite his many sufferings:

2 Cor. 11:23-28:

"Ministers of Christ are they? I speak as being beside myself, I more so! In labors more abundantly, in imprisonments more abundantly, in stripes excessively, in deaths often.

Under the hands of the Jews five times I received forty stripes less one;

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and the day I have spent in the deep;

In journeys often, in dangers of rivers, in dangers of robbers, in dangers from my race, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers in the sea, in dangers among false brothers;

In labor and hardship; in watchings oftenl in hunder and thirstl in fastings often; in cold and nakedness --

Apart from the things which have not been mentioned, there is this: the crowd of cares pressing upon me daily, the anxious concern for all the churches."

I am really impressed with the last verse here. Apart from all the things which Paul did not care to mention (Which means he suffered much more than he described in the previous verses) his anxiety for the churches pressed upon him daily.

Do you have such care for the church? I don't mean "the church" as in the building, or "the church" as the religious organization with all of its doctrines, teachings and rituals; I mean "the church" as in the people, your fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Our brother Paul suffered many trials at the hands of both his enemies and countrymen, he suffered through many physical and mental hardships to deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ to many people. But also important was Paul's deep care and concern for the saints in the church.

While we have not suffered so much as a minor part of what Paul did, do we have the same heart that he had for the saints in the church? When I examine myself I have to confess that I do not. But while I would not want to be an immitator of Paul in his sufferings, I definately want the same heart that he had for the church!