Band of Brothers

2 Corinthians 2:12–14 (ESV) When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. 14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

Paul writes something incredibly interesting here. An open door for Him in the Lord (preaching and teaching) in Troas was given to him. Yet the circumstance was uncomfortable. Why? His partner and friend Titus was not there.  

How true it is that we need our brothers/sisters in Christ!  Do you want to be effective for the Lord? Get some brothers in the battlefield. You can't do this alone. Think about this... Paul who lived and died to preach the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:16) couldn't find comfort in preaching the Gospel without his friend and partner Titus.

Do you have a "band of brothers"?  I'm not talking about people you know and hang out with. I'm talking about partners whose hearts beats with the same passion as yours in the Lord? Pastors especially need such relationships. Too often a Pastor sees himself as a lone ranger, above the people and incapable of close friendship for fear of vulnerability. 

But Paul isn't scared to look vulnerable and neither should we! He tells the Corinthians he wasn't comfortable without Titus! And this is a church who questioned his strength in the first place. Pastors, leaders, ministers - you have permission by the grace of God to be vulnerable enough to have friends. Even Jesus sought the prayers of His inner three disciples on the night of his arrest. 

I'm a Pastor, I have friends that hold me up and know more about me than anyone. They have prayed me through my sins, and seen my nasty side. I cannot express the utter value of such people in my life. Without them, ministry would be misery. I can relate to Paul.

The passage after 2 Corinthians 2:12-14 breaks off into a long digression but Paul picks up the story in chapter 7... look what he says...

2 Corinthians 7:5–7 (ESV) For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.

How did Paul get his preaching-groove back? He got his partner back. He got word of the Church who prayed for and longed for him. 

It's amazing what a friend in ministry can be to us. Every Christian is a minister of the New Covenant. We all need people like Titus. And we need to be vulnerable enough to admit we need it. Perhaps that's the first step to finding it.

PRAYER:

Father, thank you for my friends. Thank you for the partners you have blessed me with. You have been so generous to me in this regard and I also want to be a good partner for others. Thank You Lord for the opportunity to fight side by side with great soldiers in Christ. Amen.