With the Meekness and Gentleness of Christ
"Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ - I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent." II Corinthians 10:1 (NAS) Last week when I opened my Bible to continue my study of Corinthians, my first thoughts after reading II Cor. 10:1, "Here is the character of God!" And, Paul treated the Christians at Corinth with 'the meekness and gentleness of Christ.' This is how babes in Christ are fed the scriptures and gently directed to obey and follow God. However, Paul is more bold toward them (in his letters) when he is not with them. Why the contrast? My thoughts go to the differences in communication between being face to face and not face to face. It makes a difference. Face to face, I can see their reaction to what I'm saying, but while texting, emailing, or writing a letter, there is no visual to what the other party is feeling. Then, while I liste...