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| Mike Hosey, An Elder |
In Paul’s
second letter to the church at Corinth, he makes a very curious statement. In 2 Corinthians 12:7, he writes about a
thorn in his flesh, and states that it was put there to keep him humble. His thorny
statement has been the subject of a lot of debate among students of the Bible
for a very long time. Some people argue
that it was a physical ailment, some people claim it was a recurring temptation,
some people contend it was a speech impediment. Personally, I side with those who argue that he was writing about another person, and I have a number of reasons for this. First
it was brought to him by a messenger of Satan.
The Greek word for messenger in the New Testament almost always refers
to a person, or an angel. Of course, this may also indicate Satanic involvement
like that in the book of Job. Secondly, it makes more sense to understand the
thorn as a spiritual or emotional ailment, since it was given to him to keep
him from becoming conceited because of the incredible greatness of all the
revelations he had received. Opposition from another person is far more likely
to produce that result than a physical impairment. Third, the idiom “thorn,” in
the Old Testament often refers to oppositional people (Numbers 33:55, Joshua
23:13). Fourth, we know that
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| By John Desjarlais from Pasadena, USA (Flickr) |
Unfortunately
(or fortunately, depending on how you choose to look at it) the Bible doesn’t
tell us what the thorn actually was. Perhaps this is because its relevance isn’t
about the actual thorn itself (whatever it was), but about God’s sovereignty in our lives (2
Corinthians 12:9). Paul tells us that
the thorn was given to him to keep him from getting conceited for the wisdom
and knowledge God had shared with him.
Leave it to
God to do things like that. He will
throw a barrier into our lives in order to keep us properly humble, and to
remind us that He is in charge, and not us.
And in doing such a thing, God is ultimately growing us to be wiser,
have more patience, and to be more subject to his grace and authority.
Those thorns may prick our flesh, but at the end of their
stems, God makes blooming roses.
The new international version states, " I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." I do not believe that any thorn in my flesh as an impediment but it is God given. Given to prevent the thinking of being egotistical or placing oneself above another as I am not perfect. We should always be humble, grateful and serving in any ways possible. As for the messenger of Satan, people may influence you only if you let them. If you greet them with love, their "thorn" will never touch you and it will change their attitude. Reflect love in all you do. Mike, thank you for your blog....I like it.
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