It is possible to become knowledgeable in spiritual matters and powerful in preaching and yet still be unfruitful. In fact, instead of being fruitful and ministering life, such a person may cause others to suffer death. A brother may even visit another locality and hold a conference, but the results of that conference may be that many are killed. They are killed not by wrong words, but by right words. Furthermore, in the shepherding of the saints, it is also possible that we may kill others. The reason for this killing, this fruitlessness, is the lack of intimate concern. A brother who has a conference with a particular church may be concerned only for the giving of messages; he may not have any genuine concern for the church in that locality. Likewise, we may visit a family to shepherd them, but we may not have any loving concern. Rather, our motive may be to display our knowledge, spirituality, gift, or capability. The result is a killing.
Some mothers seem to be short of wisdom. Yet even though they are not clever, they raise their children in a very good way because they have a loving concern for them. Such mothers have a tender, intimate concern for their children. On the contrary, some step-mothers may be knowledgeable, gifted, and clever; however, they lack the necessary concern for the children. In taking care of children, what is most important is not knowledge or ability—it is an intimate concern. The same is true in taking care of churches or in shepherding the saints. What is needed is the intimate concern of a ministering life. The brothers who hold conferences with churches must have a genuine concern for the churches. They should not merely be interested in giving excellent messages as a display of their knowledge, talent, or capability.
When I was young, I was somewhat troubled by chapter seven of 2 Corinthians. I regarded the Bible as a sacred, classical book, and it seemed to me that 2 Corinthians 7 was not a classical writing. I could understand why chapters like Romans 5 and Romans 8 were in the Bible, but I did not know why a chapter like 2 Corinthians 7 was included. In verse 6 Paul says that he was encouraged by the coming of Titus, and in verse 7 he goes on to say, “And not only by his coming, but also by the encouragement with which he was encouraged over you, informing us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal on my behalf, so that I rejoiced the more.” It seemed to me that such a verse should not be in the Bible. Have you ever checked why 2 Corinthians 7 is in the New Testament? If you have never thought about it, this may indicate that you are somewhat careless in reading the Word. I can testify that the more attention I pay to this chapter, the more I love it, and the more I learn from it and am affected by it.
This chapter reveals that we need an intimate concern. If we have ability to carry on a work but lack an intimate concern, our work will be fruitless. What is needed to establish a good family life and church life is intimate concern. How fruitful we are, how much fruit we bear, does not depend on what we are able to do. It depends on whether or not we have an intimate concern.
Brother Nee told us that in preaching the gospel we need to have a genuine concern for others. As long as we have the proper concern for people, we are well on our way to be qualified to be used of God for their salvation. A very good testimony of this is in the book Seen and Heard. In that book, the writer, James M’Kendrick, tells us of standing in front of a group of unbelievers and weeping, without saying a word. Nevertheless, a number were saved, for he had a deep concern. Eloquence, gift, and power can never touch people as deeply as your concern for them.
In 1 Corinthians Paul was like a father disciplining his children. But even this discipline came out of a deep, intimate concern. For example, a mother may spank one of her children. But while he is receiving that spanking, the child realizes that the mother is disciplining him with a loving spirit and attitude. Thus, even when she is spanking her child, she can love him. Children can tell whether or not their parents discipline them out of a spirit of love. It was with a loving, concerned spirit that Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians. To be sure, in 2 Corinthians as a whole, and especially in chapter seven, we see Paul’s intimate concern for the believers.