So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16, ESV)
My car is over two decades old, having travelled over 323,000 kilometres. Its fading paint, multiple dents, bangs, cracks, and crumpled metal showcase its years of abuse. Someone stole it and used it in a robbery. I noted light damage to it upon its retrieval. My vehicle later ended up in a low-speed accident in front of a church hosting a wedding at the time. Several well-dressed people rushed to assist. The car ended up with large dents to its left side. Years later, I was driving into the city when a vehicle suddenly crossed three lanes of traffic at high speed, sideswiping my automobile. Miraculously, the car only seemed to glance mine. The damage was the loss of an outside mirror and more dents, now to the right side. The automobile that hit mine kept on driving as several police vehicles, and a police helicopter chased it. No doubt, it was a stolen vehicle.
My automobile has a colourful history! Its beaten body speaks to the pounding it has taken over the years. However, it is still operating, proving to be a reliable and inexpensive mode of transportation. The body has sustained much damage, but the car's internal workings are going strong.
The apostle Paul could surely relate to this. He states that his "outer man" was wasting away. What did Paul's body suffer? It suffered beatings with both whips and rods. He was battered by storms at sea, having endured shipwrecks at least four times. Men viciously beat Paul, and a poisonous viper bit him. Paul suffered from the harsh environment of prisons. His body knew what it was to be stoned and left for dead. Paul experienced torture and persecution. Great indignities and injustices were his brutal companions. Years of such mistreatment and deprivation took their toll on his physical being. His body was a worn-out billboard that advertised his adversities through injuries and scars. Yet, none of that discouraged him; he never lost heart! The zealous flame of Christ only kindled brighter. As a well-travelled missionary, Paul propagated the gospel's good news of salvation. The love of Christ propelled him to do so. Though outwardly battered, inwardly, he became ever more renewed.
Paul considered all his affliction to be relatively light. Why? Because there is something far more significant to come, the resurrection. When Jesus returns, the dead in Christ will rise, so "what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (1 Cor. 5:4). Yet even these present afflictions are not wasted. God uses them to grow us spiritually, preparing us for what is to come. What we see now is transitory. What God has prepared for us will be never-ending.
Don't lose faith, as faith connects us to the eternal things of God. As our old self degrades day by day, the new self in Christ is becoming more and more complete. Therefore, do not lose heart.
Image used by permission of SermonView
