Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 7:10-11

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 7:10-11
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter."

Why would godly sorrow cause revenge? Out of everything Paul listed as being the result of repentance with godly sorrow, why would revenge be amongst them?

Today's definition: Revenge is the act of retaliating against a person or group to get even for a real or perceived wrong. A desire for retribution or vengeance, often driven by anger, a need to restore honor, or a "bitter desire to injure another".

That sure didn't sound like what Paul was referring to, nor praising the saint for. I could see restore honor, but now I wonder if it could be a translation issue? I decided to search online for the meaning of revenge and learned that the word translated as "revenge" in the King James Version (KJV) means vindication, justice, or the punishment of wrong, rather than personal malice or spite.

Vindication would show the church proved itself innocent and serious about following God's commands. It cleared its name through proper church discipline. Paul was commending them for taking serious action against unrepentant sin in the community. The church disciplined the wrongdoer, removed complicity, and restored moral and spiritual order. Now that I can understand.

Day 4209

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:10

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:10
"As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."

This makes me think of opposites. In particular the reason Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden. She would know from her own experience good from evil, pleasure and pain, sickness and health, trials and hardships and the joy of redemption.

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
(Genesis 2:16-17)

After they were removed from the garden they earned bread by the sweat of their brow, and gave birth to children with all its highs and lows. Through the living of life they came to know you can have sorrow and yet rejoice. You can have nothing but yet have everything. What more can you want then to be redeemed and have eternal life.

"And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.
And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters."
(Moses 5:9-12)

Day 4208

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:7

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:7
"(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)"

With faith it matters not what you can see with your eyes, or hear with your ears. What matters is having the Holy Ghost testify of Christ and his words and promises. We all start with faith believing and move forward, trusting in Christ. We find that He will carry out burdens if we humbly let him. Over time it matters not that we see or hear Him, for we know He is there. Having this witness and the profound assurance the Spirit brings, we have eyes that see, and ears that hear, that know and understand.

Day 4207

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:18

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:18
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

How can you look at things that are not seen? I asked myself that and realized I do that all the time. I look forward with hope and faith in an eternal life with my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I look forward to promised blessings and hope of better days. The lens I view life here is tinted with the colors of eternity.

Day 4206