Who Are You Living For?

"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." (2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT)

Unbelievers--who say they do not believe in God or in the resurrection of Jesus Christ--live according to the dictates of their flesh. They allow their consciences to be their guide--good or bad--doing whatever they "think" is right for them.

Believers--those who say they believe and understand how God wants us to live--should be living for Him, if they truly believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave for our benefit. If He loved us enough to die for us, surely we should love Him enough to live for Him.

What does that mean? It means that we live according to His Word--doing all things that glorify Him, rather than us.

We do not attempt to change what He has said to accommodate what we want to do nor do we attempt to manipulate His Word to justify what we do.

If we love Him, we know how to love others--unconditionally because that is how He loves us--unconditionally. Now, His unconditional love does not mean we can live any way we want to live and think there will be no consequences. Good parents love their children unconditionally, but they have rules and discipline their children to keep them safe from harm. God's Word helps to discipline us and keep us safe from harm when we obey it. If we love Him, we'll obey His Word. When we don't obey His Word, we prove we don't love Him. And if we don't love Him, we can certainly not love one another.

Perhaps, our lack of love for Him is the reason some believers feel justified in spewing hatred for others--even though they proclaim to belong to the Kingdom. Perhaps, this is why the Kingdom of God--on earth--is so divided in its loyalties--we only love "some" believers and not others because of their political affiliations or lack of such. How sad!

I'm so glad that Jesus never considered any possible political affiliation that I might find myself involved with when He chose to hang on that cross. I'm so glad that He never once undervalued me as a human being because of my gender or ethnicity. I'm so glad that even though I was not even thought of by my parents or any of my ancestors, He loved me enough to pray for me in the garden, just before His arrest. I am so thankful for His love and His inspiration in my life to do all things to His glory that I live to please Him and not me. And because of my imperfections and often missing what He says, He still loves me enough to help me get back on track with His plans and not my own. Hallelujah!

What's love got to do with it? Absolutely everything because He is Love and Love conquers all that would keep us from living our best life in Him, right now!

Think about where you are in the life you chose to live. Who are you living for and is it working for you?