Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.

It is the height of greed, selfishness, power and control to withhold these consolations from our brothers who need them.  Forgive me for the times I have done it, O Lord, and help me to engage in it as my ministry this day.  One body.  One Church.

For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.

The sufferings for the early Christians were perhaps very different than those for us and yet we know in many ways they are the same for all Christians for all ages.  “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6.12)  It is the wounds we suffer while engaged in this battle as well as the sufferings we endure because “we do not do what we wish to do” (Romans 7.19) that constitute “the sufferings of Christ” in us, his members.

What then constitutes our consolations in Christ?  Simply this: knowledge of salvation through him.  It is this knowledge, the light of faith and the revelation of God’s Word that is our great joy and cause for praise.

A prayer-

Thank you for the knowledge of your Word, Father, and help me to share its consolations with others this day.