7:1 Having these promises of guidance and support, continue to grow underneath their umbrella. The filthiness of the flesh is all of the greed and corruption which ruin the quality of life of humanity across the earth. Perfect your spirit, the character of your soul out of not fear but reverence of everything divinity represents and promotes.
The word "fear" used in this verse is actually translated in two different but both equally correct ways. Fear and reverence. Corruption should fear divine creation (God) because it cannot exist near it. Yet compassion reveres because it constantly receives life and wonder.
7:2 Open your hearts to this philosophy of life which seeks to offend none and encourage all. To enable growth in wisdom, we must be inquisitive. We must listen. We must observe and analyze. We must look, touch, hear, smell. Open yourself up to more than just your immediate reality. Not only is there so much to learn but also there is so much incentive to learning. When we are aware we are capable.
7:3 Paul's message is not an attack on our character. Paul encourages us to grow in order that we may be tall enough to reach our greatest potential. Paul is whispering of the joys of flight to grounded airplanes. You were made to be impactful and purposeful and essential. Paul's mission is to awaken that realization in you.
7:4 Paul reiterates his joy for humanity. Paul's life's work was a devotion to humanity, drawn from his compassion for our well-being. Paul is proud of us for trying and learning and growing. He is awed at what we are capable of. He is comforted by us because we listen, adopt this divine philosophy and we do grow in wisdom and spirit. Paul is even joyful amidst tribulation because he knows that tribulation comes when we confront injustice. We make progress toward peace when we do not "go gently into the night" of injustice.
7:5-6 Surely Paul faced tribulation. From all directions. Constantly. Yet Paul drew his strength from God and therefore could never be depleted of courage or perseverance.
7:7 Paul draws comfort from his trust in God. Although Paul's path was frequently riddled with fear, anxiety, tribulation and enemy, Paul trust that is eventual and inevitable destination was peace.
If your faith is the size of a pinprick, how can the light enter? Paul's trust in God was broad, so open to Him that Paul was exposed entirely to God's will. For that reason, God through Paul was able to change and influence the world throughout generations.
7:8 Paul references his tough-love to the Corinthians. He knows of their (our) potential and when we observes us living hypocritically, contradictory to what we say we believe, he calls them (us) out on it. As he should. Criticism, even constructive criticism, is hard to take... but we should always be grateful for at least the opportunity to review our own behavior and decide if maybe we do need to fix it a little.
7:9 The Corinthians took the blow of Paul's epistle to them which discussed all of the hypocrisy they were committing and they grew from it. The listened to Paul's observations of them, review their own behavior and decided that he was right: they had room to grow. And so they grew. They improved themselves, became more consistent in what they believed, spoke and did.
7:10 There are different types of sorrow. The Corinthians were regretful, ashamed of their behavior. When we realize we can be better, the initial realization is sorrowful indeed. However that sorrow is a catalyst for us to change and grow. Paul wants us to know that (even if, or) just because we have a regrettable quality in our character does not mean we have to or should wallow about it forever.
Feeling sorry for yourself and doing nothing about it is death. Death of character grown and consequently death of character. Spirituality teaches us to constantly evolve from learning... to constantly breathe new life into who we are.
7:11 Be grateful for the growth pains. Paul's epistle to the Corinthians produced diligence in them to clean out the murkier aspects of themselves and to focus properly on their zeal for God's compassion. Think even outside of yourself, what is the first step to granting your forgiveness to another person? You require that they are sorrowful, regretful of their behavior. Similarly you must go through those motions of grown pain in order to be better than you were before. You must have the motivation and incentive to change or you never will.
7:12 Paul did not chastise the Corinthians to exact authority over them. That is not how God operates. Any constructive criticism delivered to you by God (through various forms) is meant to establish and strengthen you, 1 Peter 5:10. When a loving parent reprimands a child, the parent does not to so to show the child "who is boss..." the parent does so to protect the child, to make the child stronger and wiser.
7:13 Paul draws strength from the Corinthians kindness, from their efforts to grow as spiritual individuals and as a church. So much joy and refreshment come from kindnesses, so ensure that you are contributing your fair share!
7:14 Paul has trust that the Corinthians (and we) will seek and find our God. Seek and find and follow our God who leads us out of tribulation, through our periods of learning and into joy. Paul believes in humanity's ability to harness our potential and utilize it for selfless good.
7:15 In essence, Paul reverences the importance of taking this philosophy seriously. This philosophy of life is not a hobby to infrequently visit. It requires commitment, a constant deepening out of our trust and diligence in it. As earthlings, as members of this earth, we know personally of its disparity. We must do our part in stifling injustice and this philosophy enables us to do so effectively.
7:16 Paul believes in the Corinthians ability to perceive and fulfill their purpose with compassion and motivation. God believes in you to do the same. God has a constant flow of mercy and guidance directed straight at you because He believes in you. Even when we stumble, He believes in our ability to stand up again. He roots for us as we attempt to do so. He offers His hand and His heart.
Paul began his life as a persecutor of this philosophy... yet God believed in Him and He believes in you and Paul's entire frame of mind and life changed... changed the world.
