2 Corinthians 6:12 Common English Bible (CEB) There are no limits to the affection that we feel for you. You are the ones who placed boundaries on your affection for us.

The CEB provided the clearest rendering of this verse for me. It allowed me to see with better depth those things Paul was speaking about in 2 Cor. 6, of which there is much to take in.

“In patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned.” That’s a lot to suffer and come out the other side unscarred.

Taking us back to loving God with all and then loving our neighbors as ourselves, it became clear why there was the distinction between loving God and loving mankind.

The limits we set in loving each other is tied directly to how we feel about ourselves. It is said you cannot truly forgive others if we cannot forgive ourselves. It seems to be true in my life at least. Does that ring true for you?

I look at all these afflictions Paul is speaking about and the good that is mixed in as righteous responses. The two go hand in hand and if grace outweighs the pain, then I believe the answer lies in how His abiding love has changed how we see ourselves.

Being tested myself by life stressors exposed me to my raw nature, the man I am without Christ. No matter how much I try to be obedient in faith, the capacity to fail remains as a constant danger. It is not a reflection on inclination, just another moment of crucifixion of selfishness, and it is painful. We should not allow those moments to discourage us for they draw us closer to Christ who endured it all for us.

Philippians 2:1-4 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

I do a fair amount of bible study. In this modern age of electronics, the internet, and libraries without end, I have more content to read than I could possibly cover in a lifetime, much less what I have left of my own. In my search I found a phrase I had never come across before. It referenced a behavior from another time, another people, another culture, that followed God in covenant relationship. I was curious.

I found nothing in my usual resources, which are vast. So I turned to my search engine to discover what might be found beyond, in the vast libraries of www, the World Wide Web. Naturally I found some worldly words, not inspired by God. Then I happened upon this one. As I opened what he had written for his church I recognized the mind of Christ.

Here was a man who had a close personal relationship with the Lord and the words he wrote spoke to me out of a place so deep within me, that it was not my own, but rather He who abides in us both. What a blessing it was to discover what the Lord had revealed in him about truth, life and the works of the Lord that spans time immortal.

Looking on the works of others in covenant relationship with the Lord can and should strengthen your own relationship with our Lord.