"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—for He says,
“AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,
AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.”
Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”—
giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things".
2 Corinthians 5:11-6:10
What comes first...the chicken, or the egg?
Or, more relevant to this discussion, do we come to Christ because we love Him (and then learn to trust Him)...or do we trust Him (and, then learn to love Him)?
It's not just an academic question...and it's important in understanding our Christian life.
We generally come to Christ is a way similar to the first step in the AA program. We recognize our lives have become unmanageable and only a power greater than us make things right. We have run out of hope so we feebly trust Christ. We aren't certain what to expect but we trust He will forgive our sins and restore us to a good relationship with God.
That would be enough...but there's more.
We begin to notice that the obstructive veil clouding our ability to comprehend God's word is gone and we understand the merciful teachings in scripture. As Paul said. "whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (3:16).
We also recognize a power within us explained only by the intimate presence of God's Spirit within us. In fact, Paul proclaimed "He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge". (5:5). It is such a transformation that Paul expresses, in today's passage,
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (5:17). We literally are no longer the people we were.
Finally...knowing we have ?this Spirit within us..."we also believe...that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also". (4:14)
Eternal life...we live forever!
I think this is when we really begin to love God. And, what should that look like? Paul tells us we become evangelists. "Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men...for the love of Christ controls us". After all, when Christ has done all this for us, how could we not encourage others to receive the same gracious blessings?
We become "ambassadors for Christ" which, in simple terms, means our lives no longer represent our personal needs and desires but we represent Christ.
All because we love Him...in response to what He's done for us.
I wonder...do we look like Christ? As the old 70's slogan asked..."if we were accused of being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict us?" The answer will let us know if we've learned to "love" our Lord or if we're still only trusting Him.
Trust is enough but...its not all our salvation is intended to accomplish.
Live boldly out there today...
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