Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/481579
For use with Lesson Nine of the 2014–2015 Horizons Bible study, Reconciling Paul : A Contemporary Study of 2 Corinthians by Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty All You Need BY AMY POLING SUTHERLUN 28 B i b l e s t u d y r e s o u r c e 2 Corinthians 12:1–13:13 As study author Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty leads us through the final chapters of 2 Corinthians, she encourages us to really think about "what it would mean for each of us as individuals to see ourselves as the ones who are being sent into the world today," and challenges us by stating that "God is still sending us out to explore and engage the sharp and broken places in our world." This call to apostleship is daunting, isn't? Given the need, the injustice and the brokenness that pervade our world, the call to enter in and engage is fraught with risk and filled with hard work. We cannot help but feel ill-equipped for such a calling. But Elizabeth reminds us that in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "lies one of the most power- ful messages not only for Paul but for us today, as we think about the meaning of apostleship in the twenty-first century . . . : 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness'" (p. 80). Or, as Eugene Peterson translates for The Message, "My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." My grace is sufficient for you. Sufficient. Sufficient is a funny word to me, sort of under- whelming. There's a reason the title of the beloved hymn isn't "Sufficient Grace." Amazing grace is worth singing about. But sufficient? It's not the most extravagant or impressive of adjectives. It's just kind of, well, sufficient. I'm reminded of something my husband's brother used to say to their mom. When he was a teenager, he ate like a teenage boy—one who played soccer and football for two or three hours every afternoon. After he'd cleared his plate a couple of times, he'd lean back in his chair, pat his full stomach and say, "Well, mom, that was adequate." High praise, huh? "Adequate" is not exactly what any cook wants to hear about her food. Like "sufficient," it kind of means it's "all right," "it'll do." Sufficient. It seems to me there might be a bet- ter adjective to describe something as monu- mental as grace. Couldn't we have a word with a little more punch or pizzazz? But God says to Paul, and says to us, "My grace is sufficient for you." God says, to put it slightly differently, "My grace will suffice." And "to suf- fice" means "to be enough, to satisfy." God says this to Paul, who is sent into the world at the expense of his reputation, his authority and his security. God says it to Paul, who finds his message rejected and his authenticity under fire. To Paul who encounters hardship and peril, beatings and imprisonment. To Paul who is hampered by his own weakness and plagued by the thorn in his flesh. To him, God says, "My grace is enough, my grace satisfies."