Favor, God’s favor. I hear people speak of it. I have prayed for God’s favor in others’ lives and people have prayed for it in my life. Routinely I associate God’s favor with having good things happen to me. If I have a need and people pray for God’s favor, they are praying that my need is met. Praying for God’s favor can also mean asking God to go ‘above and beyond’ in meeting my needs. Hopefully you get my drift. God’s favor is often associated with material needs being met, even extravagantly met, or blessings (generally of a material nature) flowing into my life.
How fascinating it was for me to read today’s chapter, particularly verses 2b-9.
I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
I found it fascinating that immediately after Paul proclaims that now is the time of God’s favor, he lists some of the hardships, perils and trials he has faced in order to proclaim the Gospel.
Apparently in Paul’s mind (at least in this instance), God’s favor has little or nothing to do with personal benefit or material goods. Instead, God’s favor has everything to do with God blessing the proclamation of the Gospel. Personal cost to Paul for the privilege of proclaiming Jesus is inconsequential, so long as Jesus is preached and people respond.
Looking back, I should have grasped that from verse 2b where Paul uses a ‘couplet’, which equates the time of God’s favor with the day of salvation. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
The greatest expression of God’s favor is not material blessings in my life or miraculous healing. The greatest expression of God’s favor is that upon hearing the Gospel, God’s grace was upon me so that I believed and was saved. God’s salvation is God’s favor…
Musing on all this, I realize again how shallow and “me” centric my faith is. I so easily fall into the trap that God’s favor is about me having an easy life. For Paul, God’s favor is about people coming to faith in Jesus not his personal wellbeing.
I have so much maturity still to attain…
Lord, continue to saturate my life with Yours. I pray that as You do, my self-centered focus and other lingering effects of the fall in my life will diminish and You will increase. O, God, I do not want to settle for easy faith or complacent faith, instead I long for vibrant, deep, Jesus-Gospel centered faith. O, God, continue to work on me… I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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