this narrow path

2 corinthians 11:17-18


¹⁷ In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. ¹⁸ Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.


the second half of this chapter addresses how Paul boasts in his sufferings.

when we boast, it's always about something that makes us look good to others -- material things, grades, talents, jobs, -- when do we ever talk about boasting in something that doesn't make us look good? perhaps our weaknesses? or the fact that maybe there are ways to boast in our sufferings, just as paul had done.

i, for one, don't boast in my sufferings. in fact, i take shame in them. my pride gets in the way that i cannot say much about what i'm going through to my fellow brothers and sisters in christ. but remember, doesnt the gospel say that it's in our weaknesses when HIs power is revealed to us? all the more reason to boast in our sufferings.

when we boast, we shouldn't be doing it for ourselves; instead, we should be doing it to make HIs name known. this, my friends, is going to be glorifying to HIm.. and i'm saying this because this is something that i should definitely be working on as a christian.