Discovery: In vv. 12-13 we see Paul explaining why he left the great ministry opportunity in Troas (which is located across the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor) to travel to Macedonia. In v. 13, Paul tells us that he "...still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there." Apparently Titus as a liaison between the Corinthian church and Paul. When Titus never came with a response to Paul's earlier correspondence, we see Paul leaving this great opportunity to go tend to his relationship with the Corinthian church. Paul's conviction is clear: right relationships are far more important than great opportunities and people are much more important than events and programs.
Application: In the NIV, this section of text is entitled, "Ministers of New Covenant." The word minister or ministry is used only twice in this section. In 2 Cor. 3:3 it says, "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry..." and in 2 Cor. 3:6 it says, "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant..."
The words used here for ministry in the original Greek are diakoneo and diakonos. The word literally means "to serve" and this is where we get the title of deacon. Through this section Paul tells us what ministry is/should be about. It is about elevating people over programs, it about making indelible impressions on people's heart versus writing down laws and rules on tablets, and it is about serving.
Our understanding of ministry can be really messed up. Even the office of pastor seems to be more about being a project manager or worse yet a product manager than it is about directly ministering and serving at the ground level of people's lives.
Our understanding of service can also be equally messed up. Are we serving the church as an institution or organization? Are focused on planning, leading, or attending events versus investing in and growing in relationships with people? Are we following the strategies and technics of this world or are we getting "back to basics" and following Jesus' model of evangelism and discipleship?
Serving people is not alway easy. Ministering to people is not easy. Paul makes is clear in our passage in v. 16, "To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?"
Who indeed is up for this challenge?
Prayer: Help me love people with the tenacity and uncompromising conviction that You desire. Remind me each moment that this is what ministry is all about.
