The Love of Christ

-


Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NKJV)

14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Devotion:

            Today, we meditate on the power of Christ’s love to save those who believe. Paul here is writing about how the love of Christ affects believers. He states that this love of Christ compels us. The word translated compels has a wide range of meanings in the original Greek. The most likely meaning, according to commentators, is compel, which means to put pressure on someone or something. God does not force Himself on us but gently but firmly moves us in the direction He wants us to go.

            The remainder of the verses explain the direction Christ encourages us to move and how believers should react accordingly. Paul explains that Christ died for all believers. Therefore, all believers have died with Him. The power of Christ’s love is so great that it will eventually kill our sinful nature. We have all died and, therefore, must live not only for ourselves but for the good of our fellow believers and nonbelievers.

            The love of Christ should move us outward to seek the benefit of the world around us. While many may be introverted by nature, as I am, we all should seek the good of our neighbor. This is so that many may hear and believe in Christ and His gospel. We Christians are to be a giving people. The love of Christ moves each of us to benefit our neighbor. We hope that our neighbor will experience the same compelling love we do and act together with us in the cause of Christ.

            We are to be united in the cause of Christ. This is the only hope for this world. We must recover our first love and seek to use that love to influence the world around us. As long as we keep our love for Christ and neighbor to ourselves, the world will get steadily more immoral and toxic to human flourishing. We must allow the love of Christ to push us through death to self and on to the new resurrection life in Christ. Thus, enabling the world to see the deep love of God for humanity as seen in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us pray:

Prayer:

            Lord, come to us today and put our sinful, selfish desires to death. Fill us with your resurrection power. Help us to be channels for your grace and love in an increasingly wicked and hate-filled world. May we endure any hardship, even unto death, to move the cause of Christ forward. Glorify yourself in us, Lord, that others may see our deeds, hear your words from our mouths, and be compelled to accept Christianity as the accurate way of salvation. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more