“We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange–I speak as to my children–open wide your hearts also” (2 Corinthians 6:11-13).
In a well-known passage from 1 Corinthians 13:7, Paul the Apostle identified an important characteristic of love: “(Love) always trusts” (NIV). This particular aspect of love is important for trust is something that largely determines the depth and quality of our relationships with others.
You see, 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 tells us that there were some within the Corinthian church who were reluctant to emotionally invest in Paul. One potential explanation for this reluctance involved the amount of trust they held in him. For example, most people are unwilling to invest in someone they do not trust, for trust places one in a position of vulnerability. Since an untrustworthy individual is likely to hurt a vulnerable person, he or she may be reluctant to open his or her heart in such a manner.
The well-known author C. S. Lewis once expressed this idea in his book The Four Loves…
“There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.” (1)
Nevertheless, Paul was willing to work to establish a greater degree of trust and build a more loving relationship with the Corinthian Christians. As we’ll see in the following chapter, he was also ready to clear up any misunderstandings with the members of the Corinthian church by saying, “Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one” (2 Corinthians 8:2). That provided an open invitation for anyone who felt differently to engage with Paul and work out any disagreements.
The problem with implementing this approach is that it may involve the uncomfortable work of addressing the issues that limit our ability to establish a more loving relationship with others. Such efforts may be painful and carry the potential to learn difficult truths about ourselves that we might prefer to leave uncovered. Yet Paul was willing to open his heart to the Corinthians to establish a deeper, more loving relationship with them and in doing so, he provides us with a good example to follow.
(1) Clive Staples Lewis, The Four Loves Copyright © 1960 See http://www.cslewis.com/tag/the-four-loves/