2 Corinthians 12:11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

I learned something this week end I did not expect. In preparing for a spiritual retreat, it became apparent that I cannot be all that I am. Paul alludes to it here in this passage. He didn’t have to take a backseat to anyone, not even Peter. His gifts and ministry are without a doubt the bulk of the New Testament.

I am become a fool in glorying is the difficult part. Our modern understanding clouds the meaning which would have been better understood in the original time and language of the listener. In glorying is Paul’s version of let the love of Christ in you shine. The issue of being a fool is not foolish, but rather choosing a lower wattage light to shine before men who have just come out of darkness. While Paul was capable of shining brightly, to be all that he was in Christ would have been too much for these babes in Christ.

The compelling force here is the love of Christ. Paul recognizes they are not capable of receiving and comprehending the depth of his great love, so like a loving father, he comes out of the deep water and splashes in the kiddy pool with these little children. Bringing them into the deep would only frighten them.

Spiritually speaking, we know who we are in Christ and we aspire for more, but in these time, when ministering to babes in Christ, we must sit in the shallows enjoy them in their comfort and security. While a man sitting and splashing in a kiddie pool alone looks foolish, if you place a toddler in with him, the same actions appear loving.

I can only do that if I look back in time and remember how it felt to be a babe in Christ myself and have compassion for their position in Christ. If I can relate to how it was for me back in those days, they will have a better sense what is going on during this retreat.