2 Corinthians 1:3-7
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
These verses are part of yesterday’s reading and talk about comfort. They made me think about the many ways we use the word ‘comfortable.’ If we stay in a hotel the aim of the hotelier is that we have a comfortable stay. Someone in hospital may be described as being comfortable. How different are those two applications of the word.
Mrs G is sporting a smart new woolly hat that she had for Christmas, replacing one that finally shrank beyond usefulness after a hard time in the rain on Shetland last summer. My own warm hat is disreputable and shapeless, but it is wonderfully comfortable. An old friend but effective, it seems indestructible.
What sort of comfort is it that God gives and that abounds through Christ? Is it the gift of a good night’s sleep, is it the care of a dedicated medical team, or is it the familiar garment that keeps off the rain and keeps out the cold?
Have a think about the times God has made life better for you by being with you, caring or supporting you, or just giving you rest at a time of fatigue. Whether your relationship with him is clean and new or whether it is old and has been stretched and scrunched up over the years, Jesus will have been there for you in all seasons, even when you thought you did not need his comfort.
A Prayer
God of all comfort, thank you for all your love and may I have the grace to share love with others so they may be comfortable too. For Jesus’s sake, Amen.