Second Letter From Small Man To The Sacred Family In VIllage Of Pleasure 2 Corinthians

¹³You have lifted up our hearts. For when Big Man (Titus) told us of the joy he felt when you refreshed his spirit, our hearts were also filled with joy. ¹⁴I am not ashamed that I bragged about you to Big Man (Titus). For in the same way that we have always spoken truth to you, what we told him about you has also proven to be true. ¹⁵His care for you has grown even deeper as he remembers the great respect you showed him when he came to you, and how willing you were to follow all of his instructions. ¹⁶All these things make my heart glad and give me the courage to fully trust you.

¹My sacred family members, we want to tell you what the Great Spirit has done among the sacred families who gather in Land of Tall People (Macedonia). The gift of Creator’s great kindness has taken hold of their hearts. ²Even though they were walking a rough and troubled road with only a few possessions, they found great joy in giving away as much as they could. ³I speak truth from my heart. They not only gave as much as they could. They willingly sacrificed even more. Of their own free will ⁴they begged us to let them participate in bringing help to Creator’s holy people who live in Village of Peace (Jerusalem).

⁵They did much more than we had hoped for. For they first offered their lives to our Honored Chief, and then, under Creator’s guidance, they offered their lives to us as well. ⁶This is why we asked Big Man (Titus) to once again stir up this gift of great kindness in your hearts. For he is the one who first asked you to join in with this offering to help Creator’s holy people.

⁷You are strong in faith, noble in speech, wise in understanding, and wholehearted in all that you do. The love we planted in you has grown strong. Since you have done so well in all these things, see to it that you also do well in this gift of giving. ⁸I am not demanding that you give, but, by choosing you as an example for others, I am proving how deep your love truly is.

⁹For you know the loving kindness of our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. Even though he had great treasures, he became poor for your sake, that through his poverty you might share in his great treasures.

¹⁰The reason I give you this counsel is to help you finish what you started to do last year. You were the first to be willing to help, ¹¹so now is the time for you to finish the journey you began. Be as eager to finish this journey as you were when you started, and give as much as you are able. I would not ask you to give more than you are able. ¹²If you have a willing heart, it is accepted that you give from what you have and not from what you do not have.

¹³It is not that I am trying to lift the burden of others only to burden you. But to restore balance, ¹⁴you who have more than enough should give to the ones in need. Then when they have more than enough and you are in need, they can help you. This is what I mean by restoring balance. ¹⁵Just as it has been written in our Sacred Teachings, “The ones who gathered much had nothing left over. The ones who gathered little had all they needed.”12

¹⁶I give thanks to the Great Spirit, for he put into the heart of Big Man (Titus) the same care that I have for you. ¹⁷When we asked Big Man (Titus) for his help, he welcomed the idea, because going to you was already in his heart. ¹⁸Along with Big Man (Titus) we have sent a spiritual brother whose reputation for living the good story is well known and highly respected among all the sacred families.

¹⁹It is for this reason the sacred families have chosen him to help us in this sacred task. He will journey with us as we take this gift of kindness to Creator’s holy people in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). We welcome him to join with us in this sacred task that Creator has called us to. ²⁰Taking him with us shows our goodwill and helps us prove beyond a doubt that we are doing things in a good way. ²¹Our aim is to do what is honorable, not only in the eyes of the Great Spirit but also in the eyes of human beings.

²²We are also sending another spiritual brother to journey with them. He has proven himself to be always willing to help. He has dedicated himself to this sacred task because of the good things he has heard about you.

²³As for Big Man (Titus), he is my trusted partner as he works by my side to serve you. As for the other spiritual brothers, they serve as message bearers for the sacred families and bring honor to the Chosen One. ²⁴So show these brothers your love in a way that the sacred families can clearly see. This will prove that we had good reason to brag about you.

¹There is no need for me to speak anything more to you about helping Creator’s holy people in this matter of giving. ²I know how ready and willing you are. I brag about you to the sacred families in Land of Tall People (Macedonia). I tell them that the sacred families in Land of Sorrow (Achaia) have been ready to give since last year. It was your eagerness to give that made them want to do the same.

³To make sure that my bragging about you will not fall to the ground, I am sending some spiritual brothers to you so you will make yourselves ready to give this gift just as I said you would be. ⁴For if any from Land of Tall People (Macedonia) were to come with me and find you not ready, this would bring shame to us all. ⁵It is for this reason I felt that I needed to urge these brothers to come to you ahead of time. They will help make sure your promised gift will be ready. In this way, when we arrive, it will show you gave from your hearts and not because you felt forced to give.

⁶Remember this saying: The one who plants only a few seeds will harvest a small crop. The one who plants many seeds will harvest a large crop. ⁷Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not feel forced to give out of guilt because someone is shaming you for not giving. For the Great Spirit loves it when people give with glad hearts.

⁸Creator has the power to use the gift of all of his great kindness to provide more than enough for all that you need at all times. In this way you will have plenty to help others, ⁹just as it says in our Sacred Teachings, “He filled many giveaway blankets with gifts to the poor. His right ways will bring honor to him beyond the end of all days.”

¹⁰The one who gives seed for planting and good food for eating will make your seeds grow into a great harvest for doing what is right. ¹¹His blessing will rest on you in every way so that you can always be a blessing to others. In this way, the gift you give to us for others will bring honor and thanks to the Great Spirit. ¹²This sacred task of giving not only helps the poor among Creator’s holy people in Village of Peace (Jerusalem), but it also inspires many people to give praise to the Great Spirit.

¹³Your willingness to follow through with this sacred task of giving shows that your faithfulness to the good story of the Chosen One goes beyond words. Your freely given gift to them and to all will bring honor to Creator. ¹⁴With deep feelings for you they will send their voice to the Great Spirit, for they have seen the gift of Creator’s great kindness at work in you.

¹⁵Give thanks to the Great Spirit for the gift that goes beyond our weak ways of speaking!

¹Now I, Small Man (Paul), will speak for myself. With all the humility and kindness of the Chosen One I beg you to listen to what I have to say. Some have said that I am weak when with you and bold when away from you. ²These people think that we walk in weak and broken human ways, but they will soon find out what kind of courage and boldness we can walk in! I beg you not to make me treat you in the same manner as I must treat those who stand against me.

³Even though we are walking in weak human bodies, we are not fighting with human strength. We do not make war in the ways of this world. ⁴Our weapons have Creator’s power to break through and tear down strongholds. These strongholds are high-minded and wrong ideas about the Great Spirit and his ways. ⁵We help others see clearly about Creator and capture those wrong ideas, so that the truth about the Chosen One becomes a clear path to follow. ⁶Then, when you are fully walking in the ways of the Chosen One, we will be ready to bring Creator’s justice to those who fail to walk in his ways.

⁷You are only looking at how things appear on the outside. If you are sure that you belong to the Chosen One, you should remind yourself that we, as much as you, also belong to the Chosen One.

⁸You might think I brag too much about my authority in the Chosen One, but I am not ashamed to boast, for he gave me the right to build you up, not to tear you down. ⁹I say this so you will not think I am trying to make you afraid with my letters.

¹⁰It has been said by some, “In his letters his words carry much weight and power, but face to face his words are weak and empty.” ¹¹Those who say this should think again, for what we have said in our letters when away we will do when we are among you.

¹²We dare not measure ourselves or lump ourselves together with those who beat their own drum. For when they measure themselves against each other and compare themselves one with another, they show that they have no wisdom.

¹³So then, unlike the others, we will not boast beyond the territory Creator has assigned to us. It is a far-reaching territory that includes you who live in Village of Pleasure (Corinth). ¹⁴We did not overstep our boundaries when we came to you, for we were the very first to reach all the way to you with the good story about the Chosen One.

¹⁵We do not overstep boundaries or take for ourselves honor for what others have done. Instead, our hope is that, as your trust in us grows, our sacred task among you will reach out and touch many more. ¹⁶When that time comes, we will be able to tell the good story to villages beyond you. In this way we will never take for ourselves honor for what others have done.

¹⁷For it says in our Sacred Teachings, “Let the one who brags boast in what the Great Spirit has done.”13

¹⁸For it is not the ones who honor themselves that are proven worthy, but only those who are honored by the Great Spirit.

¹Since you have already been patient with me, I hope you will put up with my boasting a little longer. ²I am jealous for you with a jealousy that comes from the Great Spirit. For I have promised you in marriage to one husband, the Chosen One, to give you to him as pure as a maiden who has never been with a man.

³Long ago the evil snake used his trickster ways to take Life Bearer (Eve) down the wrong path.14 I fear that, in the same manner she was tricked, false message bearers may take you down the wrong path in your thinking and lead you away from your single-hearted loyalty to the Chosen One.

⁴I say this because you seem so willing to put up with someone who tells you about another Creator Sets Free (Jesus) who is not the same Creator Sets Free (Jesus) we told you about. You are also willing to welcome a different spirit from the one you welcomed from us. You even welcome a different good story from the good story we told you.

⁵I do not think I am any less of a message bearer than any of these puffed-up ones you have been listening to. ⁶I may not speak with a smooth tongue, but I know what I am talking about. For we have made ourselves clearly understood to you all.

⁷Was it wrong for me to humble myself by giving you Creator’s good story without charge in order to bless you? ⁸I felt as if I were stealing from other sacred families when I took gifts from them to serve you. ⁹While I was with you, I did not ask any of you for help, even though I was in need. Some sacred family members who came from Land of Tall People (Macedonia) gifted me with everything I needed. In this way, I was able to keep myself from becoming a burden to you, and I mean to keep it that way.

¹⁰I speak truth from my heart with the Chosen One as my witness. No one throughout the territory of Land of Sorrow (Achaia) will be able to keep me from walking true to my boast in what the Chosen One has helped me to do. ¹¹You may ask why I will not let myself become a burden to you. Do you think it is because I do not love you? The Great Spirit knows I love you!

¹²I will keep walking this same path, so that these puffed-up message bearers will have no solid ground to walk on when they brag that they walk in the same manner that we do. ¹³The ones who make this boast are false message bearers and lying tricksters. They represent themselves as message bearers of the Chosen One, but the regalia they wear does not represent who they truly are. ¹⁴This should not surprise us, for Accuser (Satan) falsely represents himself as a spirit-messenger wearing bright and shining regalia. ¹⁵So it is no surprise that the followers of Accuser (Satan) would falsely represent themselves as servants of Creator’s right ways. The path they walk will take them to a bad end.

¹⁶I will say it again: I want no one to think of me as a fool. But if you think of me in that manner, then let me speak as if I were a fool so that I can brag some more. ¹⁷To be clear, I am not speaking as our Honored Chief would have me speak. Instead, I will speak as a fool who brags too much. ¹⁸Since there are so many who brag about who they are and what they have done, I will now do the same!

¹⁹If I speak as a fool, this should help you understand me better, for you are so wise that you are glad to put up with many foolish things. ²⁰You even let others rule over you as if you were their slaves. You put up with them when they devour your goods, trick you, look down on you, and insult you. ²¹Shame on me! I was not strong enough to treat you so badly! But if others can boldly brag—I speak like a fool—I dare to brag just as much.

²²Are they Tribal Members (Hebrews)? So am I! Are they of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israelites)? So am I! Are they descendants of Father of Many Nations (Abraham)? So am I!

²³Are they servants of the Chosen One? Some may think I have lost my mind, but I want to brag even more! I have worked harder. I have been in prison more. I have been beaten more times than I can count. I have faced death many times. ²⁴Five times I have been beaten with thirty-nine strikes of the whip by the people of my own tribe. ²⁵I was beaten with clubs three times. Once I was almost killed when they threw stones at me. I was shipwrecked three times, and I drifted on the deep waters of the sea for a night and a day.

²⁶Many times I have traveled far and wide. On these journeys I faced dangers from raging rivers and desperate outlaws. I have faced threats from my own people and from the people of the Outside Nations. I have faced dangers in villages, dangers in the desert, dangers at sea, and dangers from false sacred family members. ²⁷My hands have been worn to the bone with hard work. On many nights I have gone without sleep. On my journeys I have been hungry and thirsty, often without food, with no blanket to keep me warm.

²⁸Alongside all these challenges, each day I am weighed down with my deep concern for all the sacred families under my care. ²⁹I feel the weakness of any who are weak. I burn with fire in my inner being every time someone is turned away from the good road.

³⁰If I must boast, I choose to brag about the things that show how weak I am. ³¹The Great Spirit who is the Father of our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who is blessed beyond the end of all days, knows that I speak the truth.

³²When I was in the village of Silent Weaver (Damascus), the governor representing the ruler named Brave One (Aretas) was on the lookout to capture me. ³³I had to sneak away from there by being lowered in a basket through an opening in the village wall.

¹It does not seem like a good thing for me to keep “bragging like this,” but I now want to tell you about the sacred visions shown to me by the Great Spirit.

^2-3Let me tell you the story of a man I know, a follower of the Chosen One. Fourteen winters ago this man was taken up into the highest place in the spirit-world above.15 If this happened to him in the body or outside the body, I do not know. Only the Great Spirit knows. ⁴This man was taken up into Creator’s Beautiful Garden,16 where he heard mysterious words that human beings are not permitted to speak.

⁵I will brag about that man, but as for myself I will boast only in how small and weak I am. ⁶It would not be a foolish thing for me to brag about this, because I would be speaking the truth about myself. But I will hold back from saying too much, so that none of you will think too highly of me beyond what you hear me say and see me do.

⁷The things that were shown to me were so mysterious and powerful that I was given a thorn to stab me where I was weak, a messenger from Accuser (Satan) to prick my pride and keep me humble. ⁸Three times I begged our Honored Chief to remove this thorn from me.

⁹“The gift of my great kindness will give you the strength you need,” our Honored Chief said to me. “For the greatness of my power comes to the ones who understand how weak they are.”

So then, I am glad to brag even more about how weak I am, so it can be clearly seen that the power resting on me comes from the Chosen One. ¹⁰That is why I can take joy in those things that show how weak I am. Others can insult me, mistreat me, hunt me down, and make things hard for me, all because of my trust in the Chosen One. For when I am weak, Creator’s strength becomes my own.

¹¹I may be acting like a fool, but you are to be blamed for it. You should have shown honor to me, for I am no less a message bearer than these puffed-up ones, even though I am nothing. ¹²The powerful signs and wonders that mark one as a true message bearer were performed among you with great patience. ¹³What have I done for the other sacred families that I have not done for you? Only that I did not become a burden to you. You must release me from this wrong!

¹⁴I am now ready to come to you for a third time. Once again I will not be a burden to you. I want you, not what you can give to me. For it is the parents who should provide for their children, and not children for their parents. ¹⁵It would make my heart glad to give all that I have and all that I am to you. If my love for you is so great, then why is your love for me so small?

^16-17Since it is clear that I did not ask anything for myself, do you think I acted like a trickster to fool and cheat you by sending others to collect the offering? ¹⁸When I sent Big Man (Titus) and the other spiritual brother to you, did they take more than they should? You know that they did not. For Big Man (Titus) and I walk together in the same spirit on the same path.

¹⁹Have you been thinking all this time that we have been trying to prove ourselves to you? We have nothing to prove to you, for we speak with the words of the Chosen One and under the eyes of the Great Spirit. You are our much-loved ones, and everything we do is to lift you up and make you strong in him.

²⁰But I fear that when I come to you we will not be walking in step with each other. I might find among you that there will be arguing, jealousy, uncontrolled anger, selfish desires, forked tongues, boastful talk, and hostile ways. ²¹This makes me afraid that when I come to you again the Great Spirit will humble me in front of you. For I will weep many tears for the ones who have been following their bad hearts and have not turned away from walking in impurity and uncontrolled sexual desires.

¹This will be the third time I will be coming to you. It says in the Sacred Teachings that it takes two or three witnesses to prove a wrongdoing.17 ²When I came the second time, I warned the ones who were doing wrong, and now I warn the rest of you. When I come this time, I will not take pity on anyone. ³You who seek proof that the Chosen One is speaking through me will get all the proof you need. Do not think that the Chosen One is weak in this matter. His power is at work among you. ⁴Yes, he was nailed to a tree-pole—the cross—and died as a weak human being, but he now lives by the power of the Great Spirit. In the same way we, like him, are also weak human beings, but you will see that, like him, we also live by the power of the Great Spirit as we walk together with you.

⁵Take a good look inside yourselves to see whether you walk true to what you believe. Put yourselves to the test. Do you know who you truly are? Do you not understand that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One lives in and among you? Or have you failed the test of walking true to this in your own lives? ⁶It is my hope that you will come to know that I and my fellow workers have not failed this test.

⁷We are sending our voices to the Great Spirit, praying for you to do nothing wrong. This is not to make it look as if we have passed the test, but so that you will do what is good and right even if it looks as if we have failed. ⁸For we must stand firm on the truth and not walk away from it. ⁹So if our being weak means that you are strong, it makes our hearts glad. It is our prayer that you will become strong and mature followers of the Chosen One.

¹⁰I am writing this letter to you while I am away, so that I will not have to speak sharp words like this when I come to you. Instead, I want to use the power our Honored Chief has given me to build you up, not to tear you down.

¹¹Last of all, my sacred family members, let your hearts be glad. Mend your ways, walk side by side with each other, sharing the same purpose and living in harmony with one another. In this way, the Great Spirit who gives love and peace will walk with you on the road of life.

¹²Welcome each other with a holy kiss. All of Creator’s holy ones who are with me send their greetings to you.

¹³May the gift of great kindness that comes from our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One, along with the love of our Creator remain with you as you walk hand in hand together with the Holy Spirit.

Aho! May it be so!