Heavenly Visions - Fleshly Thorns

Good morning,

My sister would say my house looks like "the wreck of the Hesperus" - - - some literary analogy from a work I cannot name.  Yesterday, I put away the fall decorations and dragged out all the boxes of Christmas decor.  Can you guess what I'll be doing later today?  Still, dawn is breaking over the ridge.  The coffeemaker is sighing and the brew is good.  I've been studying 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, an extremely fascinating passage.

In it, Paul continues to share his qualifications to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.  The capstone of his persuasions is to share (in the third person) about a remarkable vision he had, about 14 years prior. I'm perplexed by Paul's use of the third person here.  It is plain, from verse 6, he is speaking of himself as being the man who was "caught up to the third heaven".  He seems to think that to just come out and say, "I am that man" would be boastful.  Some things, though true, are not necessary.

Over the course of his ministry, Paul was the recipient of many visions.  Here are some references for some of them:  Acts 9:3, 12; 22:6, 17; 16:9; 18:9-10; 23:11; 27:23.  Nevertheless, the vision described by Paul here in 2 Cor. 12 is "a cut above", if you'll pardon the pun.  He says that he was taken up into "the third heaven".  I've blogged about this before and so will just briefly recap here. The first heaven is our earthly "atmosphere".  The second heaven is the vast expanse beyond the earth's atmosphere, where the heavenly bodies  (planets, stars, etc.) reside.  The third heaven is the abode of God Himself.

So, that's where Paul went - - - into the very presence of God.  He saw and heard things there too wonderful to share.  According to one source, 14 years before the writing of 2 Corinthians, when Paul said this occurred, he was residing in Antioch.  When I first read about it, I thought it might have occurred during his time in Arabia, at the very beginning of his ministry.  But, that was wrong.  He had already returned from Arabia, and the vision occurred before his first missionary journey.  Not that this matters overly-much...

We move on to the interesting fact that God gave Paul some kind of "weakness", which was with him the rest of his life and ministry.  There has been much speculation about what this is - - - - all the way from saying it was his mother-in-law (insert eye-roll icon here) to his poor vision.  The latter is quite probable, as Paul makes reference to it several times in his letters.  Although a highly educated man, he used scribes, who wrote down his letters.  See 2 Thess. 3:17, for example.  There, Paul signs with his own hand, which is in stark contrast to the rest of the letter, dictated to a scribe.  Again, it does not matter overly-much exactly what this chronic "thorn" was, poor eyesight or something else.

The more important point is this:  if Paul, that paragon of humanity, that man who saw Jesus at the moment of his conversion and was caught up into the very presence of God some 6 years later was given a "thorn in the flesh", why do we think, then, that we should escape?  I venture to say that every Christian has something that "bedevils" them.  We are every day confronted with our imperfect, fallen world, in which lives our imperfect, fallen-yet-redeemed selves.

Sometimes, while blogging, I have the tv on "silent" mode.  Right now, Kyle Busch, the NASCAR driver is on the morning news show, reflecting on this past season, which had contained "ups and downs".  Regardless of how "famous" we become, aren't all our Christian lives like this?  Our temptation is to get so sad during the "downs" or when our "thorn" is poking us that we overlook the "ups".  Maybe God wants to show us more heavenly visions, if we would only ... look up.  This is what Paul did.  I love verses 8-10 (NET):

8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Our gracious Father knows that our fleshly tendency is to trust in our own "strength" and boast of our own power/accomplishments.  When we do that, though, we tamp down the power of Christ at work in us.  When we allow ourselves to "be weak" - - - when we acknowledge our limitations, He can then be freed to show forth His mighty power.  He will not share His glory with anyone.

Oh how this runs counter to our world's culture!  To unbelievers, it sounds like utter foolishness.

In every small act of our mundane days, He wants the glory.  In decorating the house for Christmas, He wants the glory.  In waiting on His perfect timing, He wants the glory.  In our interactions with loved ones this holiday season, He wants the glory.  We can ask the Lord, as Paul did, to take away our "besetting sin" or our persistent, chronic torment.  But, if He does not, we should realize that one day (in Heaven) we will be free of it.   Until that day, we can find contentment in our present circumstances, so that He can receive the glory due His mighty name.

Heavenly Father, You who are enthroned above the sphere of earth and between the cherubim, all glory and praise belong to You alone.  Make Your glory visible in me today.  I present my weak self for your use, in the furtherance of Your kingdom, in the carrying out of Your will.  Help me, in my weaknesses, Lord!  Show Yourself mighty despite them.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

http://www.matthewmcgee.org/paultime.html

Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. 537. Print.