:: M squared T ::

:: Sunday, October 26, 2003 ::

Will the Real Christians Please Stand Up?

Lectio Divina

For the love of Christ constrains us; we believe this: that one died for all, therefore all died. And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised on their behalf.


II Corinthians 5:14 - 15
Trans. M Squared T

What if we were to make this verse the deciding factor on whether someone was a Christian? Beyond the Rule of Faith of the Gospel, this transformation from "living for ourselves" to "living for Christ" indicts me and many others within the church today.

Living our own dreams - those separate from those of the Gospel - denies the Gospel.

This means our salvation transcends escaping Hell and experiencing Heaven - or "eternal separation from God" and "eternal presence of God" as some like to express it. Salvation is a lifestyle as much as it is an end. The "so that those who live..." phrase above is not so much a command ("you WILL live this way or else") as it is the expression of God granting us the ability to do something we've wanted to do but have been unable due to the reign of Sin, Evil and Death in our lives.

Do we want it?

If we choose to make Eternal Life only an end - only something that will take place after we die, we explicitly and specifically deny that we desire to be in the presence of God. Therefore, we choose Hell, here and now, for the here and now.

Now why on earth would we want to do that?

By choosing to make Heaven only an end, we declare ourselves separated from the presence of God here and now, utterly and completely - therefore, in Hell. Instead, I want to live for God here and now, in his presence, to experience his salvation Today, as a down payment of better things to come in the future.

Thanks Be To God.

:: Matt 10/26/2003 01:23:00 AM :: permalink :: ::
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