A Credible Incredibility!
November 16, 2014
According to Webster’s dictionary, a key element of credibility is integrity. And according to informal surveys asking- “What makes someone credible?” – time and again the most frequent answer given is trustworthiness, honesty, and integrity.
Additionally, when most people are asked – “What is the first thing you notice when you meet somebody?”- remarkably the answers shared are: trustworthiness, credibility, authenticity, honesty and integrity. And if you’re interested in enhancing your own credibility, experts suggest you highlight your own experience and qualifications, because experience and qualifications have the power to inspire belief!
Recently I was thinking about the Apostle Paul’s credibility when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:3:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
I can trust these words as coming from a trustworthy and honest source. Paul’s words are credible as he was blessing and praising God. I can trust Paul’s words because of his very own qualifications and impressive resume recorded in Philippians 3:5:
circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee
And Paul’s credibility is enhanced by his experiences recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27:
24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
If Paul could endure and persevere under all of those circumstances, any of which I’m sure would have been the death of me, and then bless God for being the Father of mercy and ALL comfort, then I believe Paul. He’s credible! And so I echo Paul’s words:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,…(2 Corinthians 1:3).
What comfort we all can take in the credible words of Paul that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is not the Father of 33%, 83%, 93% comfort. He is the Father of 100% – ALL-comfort! What a credible incredibility!