The end of it all

Do you ever wonder what the end of it all is? I do that sometimes. I start thumb-sucking about what the final, final point of everything we do is. I know we eat so that we can have strength to work for God. (Or do we work so that we can eat to the glory of God?) And, of course, we have church programs so that people will get evangelized. And we evangelize so that people will get saved and join the Church. And we want them to get saved and join the Church so that they will grow in grace and the knowledge of God.

But what is the big payoff of all of this, the Big Enchilada, the last step in the dance of the cosmic drama?

Today I was reading 2 Corinthians, and my attention was arrested by the recurrence of the words "thanksgiving" and "thanks."

"You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many" (1:11).

It is rather an odd-sounding goal at first, isn't it? All the trouble, the fisticuffs, the hardship, the experiencing "the sentence of death" (v.9), the pleading for prayer to help in this-all so that somebody somewhere will thank God! As if the lisping of thanks is anything.

Then a few chapters later we have the same trajectory being spoken of: hardship for the gospel, persecution, perplexity, near-death experiences-all so that somebody somewhere will thank God! ("For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving to God" [4:15].)

Later still, Paul is enthusiastic about the raising of financial support for the materially poor churches. But this raising of money seems to be, in Paul's mind, just another way of raising a crop of God-ward thanksgiving: "For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God." By their approval of this service, they will glorify God [can anyone say "thank you, God!"] . . ." (9:12-13).

And since the giving of thanks seems to be the endgame, and the grace of God desires to enfold more and more people in this chorus of thank yous, Paul decides to start the ball rolling himself. The lawyerly apostle interrupts the flow of his logical discourse to offer up a quick prayer of thanksgiving. And so should I just now:

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (9:15)

To hear commentaries by Andrée Seu, click here.