Day 2
Some Scripture:
“ Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
“As God's partner's, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. For God says,
'At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.'
Indeed, the 'right time' is now. Today is the day of salvation.”
-II Corinthians 5:11-6:2 (NLT); quote from Isaiah 49:8
Some Reflection:
Paul here has a whole lot to say, so let's boil it down a bit...
Just as salvation is not just about us, so salvation is not just for us. God desires all to be redeemed and, hence, reconciled to Him, even remade into His image.
That means that, as C. S. Lewis said so bluntly, “You've never met a mere mortal.” In other words, each person – not just you – is uniquely of more value that you can imagine. Consequentially, each person has greater potential to be something either incredibly good and beautiful in Christ or something incredibly terrible and horrendous apart from Him.
Whether you like it or not, God has sent you an invitation, and you must, therefore, accept it or refuse it. He has invited you to be a part of His redemption in the lives of others, and to this invite you must R. S. V. P.
Dennis Kinlaw makes the profound point that God always works through others; no person is saved apart from the influence of another. Are you in, or are you out? If you are in, you are in for the greatest ride of a lifetime, and even if you look like a fool, who really cares? If you are out, I'm so sorry; you really are missing out.
“ Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
“As God's partner's, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. For God says,
'At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.'
Indeed, the 'right time' is now. Today is the day of salvation.”
-II Corinthians 5:11-6:2 (NLT); quote from Isaiah 49:8
Some Reflection:
Paul here has a whole lot to say, so let's boil it down a bit...
Just as salvation is not just about us, so salvation is not just for us. God desires all to be redeemed and, hence, reconciled to Him, even remade into His image.
That means that, as C. S. Lewis said so bluntly, “You've never met a mere mortal.” In other words, each person – not just you – is uniquely of more value that you can imagine. Consequentially, each person has greater potential to be something either incredibly good and beautiful in Christ or something incredibly terrible and horrendous apart from Him.
Whether you like it or not, God has sent you an invitation, and you must, therefore, accept it or refuse it. He has invited you to be a part of His redemption in the lives of others, and to this invite you must R. S. V. P.
Dennis Kinlaw makes the profound point that God always works through others; no person is saved apart from the influence of another. Are you in, or are you out? If you are in, you are in for the greatest ride of a lifetime, and even if you look like a fool, who really cares? If you are out, I'm so sorry; you really are missing out.
posted by Adam Godbold | 11:29 PM
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