IT TRAVELS

READING: 2 CORINTHIANS 1:1-7

Verse 4: “who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

This verse gives a sense of the enduring nature of comfort. It names the Heavenly Father as the God of all comfort who comforts us. We don’t establish, manufacture or create comfort. We just receive the comfort He provides for each, and then we respond as He directs that comfort to the benefit of others. This reminds me of a movie I saw long ago. The focal point of the movie was a car. Early in the story the car was purchased by a wealthy family as its first owner. Experiences with the car were then traced from family to family as its owners changed. As it passed along, the character of the car provided just what was needed for each successive owner. It was on time and in season in each case. It seems that comfort is passed in the same manner. Each person who receives the comfort of the Lord from another is able to pass it along as something of value that is designed for the next. This process of conveying comfort is one that honors the Lord. It respects the value of God’s comfort as something each of us can share just as He has granted it to us in our time of need. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What is the difference between being comforted and being comfortable?

2. What do you suppose would happen to someone who only received comfort but did not comfort others?