In the old days, before telephones, email, and instant messaging, communication over distance was a slow process. Before the invention of the postal system, if you wanted to send a letter to someone, you’d have to send someone with the letter. And once you sent the letter, it may be a long time before you got a response. Waiting for a response could be a very tense and uncertain time.

Paul had sent a rather stern and severe letter to the church at Corinth, and he was concerned about how they would respond to it. Titus had delivered this letter and then reported back to Paul about how the people had responded.  Titus was happy to report that the people had responded well both to him and to the letter. So in this section, Paul expresses his gratitude that everything had been resolved and that they were now back on good terms with one another.

This passage deals with repairing a troubled relationship between a church and its spiritual leaders. From time to time, conflict arises within a church, and the best way to resolve that conflict is to deal with it biblically and honestly. That’s what Paul is doing here; he’s trying to restore relationships.

What are some steps a church can take to rebuild a broken relationship with its spiritual leaders? What steps can we take toward reconciliation?