Comfort

Many people’s notions of comfort relate to an easy chair, an inner-spring bed or an American Cadillac. The fool of Jesus’ parable in Luke 12 thought like this. “Soul,” he says patronizingly, his bank balance nicely padded, “take your ease!”

God’s men and women are made of tougher stuff. For them there is comfort in rich measure but it is comfort of an entirely different kind, of altogether higher quality.

The usual word for comfort in the original New Testament Greek (para­klesis) is an interesting one. Its origin is in the law courts. A person who was in trouble before the law called to his aid a “Comforter,” who as a friend of the accused could testify to his worthiness, and plead for him to the judge. The purpose of the “Comforter” of John 14 to 16 was to do this for the disciples before the Father (see Romans 8). “The Spirit helps us in our weakness” and “intercedes for the saints” (v. 26, 27).

It is interesting to examine the sources of comfort mentioned by the Apostle Paul.

  1. In Romans 15:4 he speaks of the “comfort of the Scriptures” — because of the hope they offer.
  2. In Colossians 4 he mentions some Jewish Christian brethren by name — Aristarchus, Mark and Jesus Justus. Most Jews treated Paul as a traitor to their nation because he preached freedom in Christ to people of other races, and this was sadly true of many Jewish brethren. But these particular Jewish brethren were his fellow workers and they were thus a great comfort to him.
  3. In II Corinthians 7:6 he is com­forted when Titus brought good news of the spiritual progress of the Corinthian ecclesia which Paul had founded.
  4. In I Thessalonians 3:7 it was the faith of the believers in Thessalonica which comforted him.

None of these were selfish comforts. But they were real and deep comforts to Paul because his heart was in spiritual things, not in the fleshly ease which is so much sought after by today’s multitudes. To the child of God it is the encouraging word, the brother’s helping hand, the cheerful visitor, the strong mature ecclesia which bring real, true comfort.