Abundant love

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. - 2 Corinthians 2:4

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians was quite forceful. They were falling into error and sin. They were tolerating sin. At times the letter seemed a bit harsh. 

Here in the second letter Paul wants to make sure that they knew the reason and the attitude  behind his comments and his correction. He wanted them to see his heart. He did not want them to be grieved over the letter. 

But Paul said that he wrote what he wrote out of 'much affliction and anguish of heart.' He wanted them to know that he said what he had to say out of his abundant love. 

I think there is a lesson here for us. There are times when we need deal with sin. If it ever because easy or something we do out of arrogance or haughtiness then we ourselves have the wrong attitude. Every time we have to deal with another's sin he ought to cause us deep affliction and anguish of heart. Love must always be the motivation.