Verse of the Day for December 28

Paul writes this list in pairs. As unknown, and yet well known. as dying, and, behold, we live. Each pair has a hard half and a surprising half, and he does not choose between them.

The middle one is the heart of it. As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing. Not sorrowful first and rejoicing later. Both at the same time, every day, in the same body.

Paul is not exaggerating the cost. He had been beaten, shipwrecked, slandered. The sorrow is not a pose. But neither is the joy. He holds the two together like a man carrying a heavy bag in one hand and a lamp in the other.

And then his voice changes. O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. After all that suffering, his heart has not shrunk. It has grown. Cost can make people bitter, or it can make them wide.

If following Christ is costing you something real, a friendship, a promotion, a quiet life, say both halves honestly tonight. I am sorrowful. I am also rejoicing. Then open your heart to someone instead of closing it.

Real cost and real joy can share one day.

Let hardship make your heart wider, not smaller.