Enduring Through All Manner of Offense

When I worked in the truck driving business, I often had to acknowledge that there were some parts of the job that weren’t much fun. While there were some good parts of my position, there were also afflictions, hardships, and challenges, and they seemed to outweigh the benefits. Many times I found myself carefully considering what it would mean for my family if I allowed myself to give a worldly response to the offenses that came my way.

Just like some of my tough experiences, the apostle Paul moves through some pretty heavy things in his list in 2 Corinthians 6. He starts by telling us that our choice to serve Jesus comes with hardships, distresses, and beatings (vv. 4–5). In verses 6 and 7, he moves to more positive aspects of the call: purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness. When we get to verses 8 and 9, Apostle Paul is contrasting the negatives of enduring with the positives. It’s a stark contrast to the fruits of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5.

As already mentioned in Day 2, offenses will come (Matthew 18:7). However, our response is different from that of the world’s because we have Christ with us. We are unknown to the world — they don’t understand our way of life or our motivations — but we are known in the kingdom by God. Though we are called to live in the world, the anticipated outcomes of everyday situations are different from those who don’t follow Jesus. In all things, we can choose to show his love to call others into him. How will you choose to endure through offenses at work or in your day-to-day life?