Many years ago, a colleague of mine was traveling on business, and – as is often the case from the small airport nearby – he had to connect through a larger airline hub. However, he encountered problems partway through the trip, and by the time he could have left for his original destination, there was no longer any value in doing so. As a result, he learned about an airline concept called “trip in vain”. This phrase describes certain cases where an airline passenger ends up returning to their departure city without having actually reached their destination.
Maybe you’ve experienced this yourself, or maybe you’ve run into similar problems on other journeys. Like driving to a restaurant that was closed for the day (which I’ve done), or traveling to an attraction that wasn’t open to the public (which I’ve also done), there are journeys in our lives that feel like “trips in vain”.
Hold that thought…
Time for a quick geography lesson: first-century Corinth was located in a region of Greece called Achaia. Achaia was the southernmost region of Greece in that era, comprising the lower part of the peninsula that juts down towards the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily (south of Italy) and modern-day Turkey (Türkiye). Just north of that, composing the rest of this Greek peninsula, is the region of Macedonia, which included cities like Thessalonica.
To tie this together, Paul mentions Macedonia in one of his letters to the church in Corinth.
Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.
2 Corinthians 1:15-16 NIV
So, it seems that Paul was hoping to stop by Corinth on his way to and from Macedonia. It’s like friends stopping by on their way across the country, whether just to break up the drive and stay at your place for the night, or going out of their way to see you. (Paul was planning on a trip to Macedonia, and then on to Judea. Apparently [per Baker, cited below], Corinth may have been on his way to Macedonia, but would require extra travel on the other leg of the journey.)
And, this wasn’t expected to be a casual visit. Paul wanted to help them. In fact, it sounds like they definitely needed some help, based on the content of the two letters that we have from Paul to this church. I expect that any of us would benefit from an apostle’s teaching, though, regardless of our current situation, and especially if the apostle was a friend of ours.
However, if we peek ahead to verse 23, Paul apparently didn’t make it to Corinth when he had hoped to. As a result, while reading between the lines, it sounds like some people in Corinth were accusing Paul of not really wanting to visit them, and that he was just getting their hopes up with an initial plan that he didn’t intend to follow through with.
Paul responds to this unjustified concern, though.
Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?
2 Corinthians 1:17 NIV
In Paul’s response, we now we see the previous verses (like 2 Corinthians 1:12-14) as setting this stage for his defense. He loved the Corinthians, and he was proud of them. In fact, per earlier verses, he had suffered much for their benefit. So, when he didn’t make it to Corinth, this wasn’t him going back on his word, or because he didn’t want to see them. Those points were not in question, but something more compelling (mentioned later) kept him away. Sometimes, obstacles come up that we didn’t anticipate, and we can’t visit with friends or family as we had hoped to, but that doesn’t diminish our love for them or our desire to see them.
When a friend or family members promises to visit, and is unavoidably detained, we may be disappointed, and we might even be tempted to blame them (rather than their circumstances). The same problem can occur when we want to visit someone, but are prevented from doing so.
Here, Paul isn’t lying or conflicted, though. He has integrity within himself, but that integrity includes both a personal desire to visit the Corinthians, and a greater, more compelling choice to follow God’s directions.
We may lament what we see as a “trip in vain”, where it feels like someone on a journey didn’t reach their destination. However, like Paul, we must appreciate that we live in a complicated world, and while God weaves His plan through all manner of situations (including those that don’t look good at first), there are times when our itineraries must change.
The good news is that no day spent with Jesus Christ is a “trip in vain”!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for May 5, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, May 5, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 2 Corinthians, by William R. Baker. © 1999 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 