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2 Corinthians 4:8-10 – Speaking Our Raising
Our speech patterns say so much about us, whether it is what we say, or how we don’t say things. In Wal-Mart yesterday, a grown woman in her late 20’s or early 30’s, said to her male companion, “Where the bread at?” Not only is that bad English, she didn’t even accomplish an economy of words by leaving out “is.” “Where’s the bread” only has three words. But my focus is more than just bad grammar. She is speaking her environment; she is speaking her raising. The same is true for us speaking spiritually. After discussing eloquently and encouragingly his suffering for the Lord (2 Cor.4:8-9), Paul then applies it spiritually: “We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Cor.4:10 – HCSB). We don’t talk like that anymore. Our language is filled with complaining about this or that, and talking badly about how badly we have been treated. Our language is filled with “us” versus “them.” How much better that we change our mental and spiritual environment, and start speaking our divine raising? How much better that we focus on our suffering for Christ is because Christ suffered for us? How much better that we focus on walking around as an living example of already experiencing one resurrection, and waiting for the next? Speak like children of God, and not just products of our self-first environment.
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