“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Hard times by definition are exactly that. Amidst difficult times our minds typically perceive a meandering elongated path to our desired state or destination. Sometimes we’re so disoriented by hardship that we begin questioning the reality of our perceptions- we’re not sure whether what we desire is truly good- we’re not sure we’re meant to make it to the light in the tunnel- or whether that light is actually an oncoming train to avoid at all costs.
When Paul wrote this passage, he himself had been walking such a path. Earlier in the letter to the Corinthians he had written about being “so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death." (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
How was he able to navigate such hardship to be able to see such afflictions ultimately as “slight” and “momentary”?
Paul was able to do so because he understood 1) the Purpose of the affliction, 2) the Prize beyond the affliction, and 3) the Person of Christ.
1) Paul saw that afflictions have purpose. Afflictions are God’s way of preparing His people for glory- elsewhere he reminds believers that “through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
A simple analogy to consider is that of how diamonds are formed. The starting material of a diamond is simple carbon- unless it undergoes extreme pressure and heat over long periods of time (estimated 1-3 billion years!), it remains as it is. One form is common and worth relatively little- while the other form weathered by pressure is transformed to be beautiful and precious.
Paul writes elsewhere that Christians are called by God to be conformed to the image of Christ, and that He makes all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8). The promises are secure as Christ’s death and resurrection, so that we can say with confidence with Paul, “If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us?”
2) Paul understood the magnitude and beauty of the prize that such afflictions were preparing for God’s people. He speaks of the afflictions being slight and momentary, and that they don’t hold a candle to the eternal weight of glory that is being prepared for God’s people. But what does this glory entail?
For one, it involves knowing God and his goodness like we’ve never known before. Paul knows God will spend all of eternity showing his people “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7). No matter how well we may know God’s word- no matter how closely we may walk by the Spirit, may we never let ourselves think that we’ve already plumbed the depths of the riches of God’s grace toward us. May it humble us so to consider that it will take the Father the coming ages of eternity to show us just how kind He is to us!
But there is another aspect to this weight of glory; one day we will know and have in full what God has created us for. We know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, for we will see him as He is (1 John 3:2). We will receive imperishable bodies (1 Corinthians 15), just like Christ’s resurrected body. Every tear will be wiped away, and pain will be no more (Revelation 21:4). There is certainly much more than I’ve briefly mentioned here- so I encourage you to explore the depth and breadth of this glory we will have!
3) Ultimately in Paul’s mind any kind of suffering or affliction would not have the last word because Paul knew the person of Jesus Christ. When we read just a couple of verses earlier in 2 Corinthians 4, we see this:
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-10)
Let me take the diamond analogy just a bit further. Diamonds are only possible provided that the carbon atoms are arranged in a particular way. Specifically, only the tetrahedral arrangement of carbon enables it to endure the enormous forces required to become a diamond. Any other molecular arrangement of carbon could not withstand such pressure.
In our world, hardship more often than not doesn’t result in glory. Pain and suffering decidedly aren’t automatically followed by better times. We know too many instances where pain begets pain, and how suffering can lead one down spirals of sorrow upon sorrow. The self-centered late-modern Western culture in which we live and breathe does not have a coherent ethic to understand or deal with suffering- it only seeks to avoid it at all cost.
Only those who trust in Christ’s death and resurrection- those who behold the face of the glory of God in Christ- have the true and living hope through which our hearts and minds are renewed and reconfigured to perceive and endure afflictions. Christian hope isn’t just about having the ability to have a “grin and bear it” facade as we bear our hard times, but to be able to do so with unshakeable joy.
Brothers and sisters- are we captivated by the love of Christ? Is He becoming increasingly precious to us? Are we actively learning to consider everything loss for the sake of knowing him in the fellowship of his suffering as well as in the power of his resurrection? (Philippians 3:9-10).
Let me conclude with an encouragement from James:
“As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
Even we walk through this world-marred by our own besetting sins and the brokenness we experience in human relationships big and small- may the Lord grant us grace to increasingly see each hardship as a doorway that leads to incomparable glory- all because of what Christ has secured for us through the Gospel. In our lives, especially amidst our afflictions, may we trust our gracious God to transform our Valley of Achor into a door of hope (Hosea 2:15).
Grace and Peace,
Mike
