Who are you living for?

2 Corinthians 5:11-15

 Submitting to authority does not come easy, and it begins very early in life, a baby has no care for authority that is unless they are in charge, it’s all about number one.  Number one is hungry, and he cries or yells, until someone fixes his need, or they have a dirty diaper and it is the same routine.   What about a two-year-old, who taught them to say no, and what about the teenager, who taught them to lie to their parents?  So the why is easy, we want to be in charge, we like being the captain of our ship, and yet deep inside we each know that some day we will give an account to a Holy God who knows all about us and loves us beyond our understanding.  One day we will be judged according to what we have done with His Son Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, and took our place.

With that insight, let's continue in verses 11 and 12, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.”  I’ve been reading “the Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennan Manning and on page 196 he shares an Old Russian proverb, “Those who have the disease called Jesus will never be cured.”  Have you been infected with this disease?  It was clear that the apostle Paul had been infected, Jesus was his life and his hope, and he wanted them to give Jesus the awe and respect due Him, and in their treatment of the brothers who came bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

Verses 13-15, “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”  It would seem that some inside and maybe outside of the church are saying Paul’s elevator was not reaching the top floors, but they had no understanding of the love of Christ that compelled him.  The message was clear to all that sinners who had entered by faith and the grace only God can give, had died to sin and were free to walk in newness of life.  Dropping down to verse 17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  Have you been infected?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice