To Encourage You

2 Corinthians 1:14 “. . . that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.”

One day we will all stand before the Lord of Glory.  We will face the Judge of all the earth. It is at that moment that things will become crystal clear.  The truth about how we’ve lived and what we’ve trusted in will be exposed for all, but most importantly, for the Lord, to see.  The Bible makes it clear that if we’ve never put our faith in Christ, it is at that moment that we will be ashamed. Among many other things, Jesus had this to say about that moment: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).  But for the believer, incredibly, it will be a time of rejoicing. It will be a moment when the realization that there is “no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) will bring “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). It will be then that the believers will rejoice as their faith in what God has been telling them throughout the years in His Word becomes sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). 

That’s one of the things that Paul is referring to in his letter to the believers at Corinth in the verse above. Their “boasting of us” on the day of the Lord Jesus will be a rejoicing in the reality that the faith they had placed in the writings of Paul and other writers of the Scriptures was worth it all, regardless of the sufferings, persecutions, and other hardships they had endured as a result. Peter spoke of this very same thing with these words: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).  What an awesome moment that day will be!

But then, Paul speaks of another reason for boasting, i.e., rejoicing, “on the day our Lord Jesus Christ.” We should all note that on that day we won’t rejoice in how much money we’ve made in this life, how many vacations we’ve enjoyed, or how successful we’ve been by worldly standards. No, the thing Paul was looking forward to, and the thing that all believers can likewise look forward to, is the influence for the cause of Christ that they’ve had on others. It is at that time that we will fully understand the impacts our giving, acts of kindness, words, service, and prayers have had on others. While many of those things are never known in this life, they will be clear for all to see on the day of the Lord. Paul said it this way in another letter he wrote, this one to the believers at Thessalonica: “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19). 

What an encouragement this is to serve the Lord with our words and actions. What an encouragement to believe all that God has said. And what an encouragement to love our neighbor as our self, for as the words of the old hymn say so well: