After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you–for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits (1 Corinthians 16:5-7).

The key to this passage?

Final phrase

If the Lord permits 

Paul had originally planned to leave Ephesus, where he was writing this letter, and go to Corinth on his way to Macedonia. But now Paul tells the Corinthians that he is going to wait and see them on the way back from Macedonia. 

This, as it happens, is going to seriously annoy the Corinthians, to the point where some will call Paul out for being unreliable and flakey. In his next letter (2 Corinthians) Paul will deal with that, pointing out that he wanted to give them some time to digest this letter–rebukes and all– and make some changes before he got there, so that his visit could be a pleasant one and not a smackdown.

But that conversation will happen in another letter. For now, we simply get the change of plans, Paul’s hope to spend more time with them as a result of the change, and the phrase if the Lord permits.

If the Lord permits

It’s a reminder that Paul is not conducting the orchestra. He’s just playing his fiddle. The Lord God Almighty is conductor, and composer, and creator of heaven and earth.  Paul, and the rest of us, are called to faithfully follow the music God has written, on the instrument he has given us, with the talent he has granted and the skill we have worked to attain. 

I play third kazoo, as it turns out. But I do what I can.

Happy Friday, Beloved