It's His Life to Live

2 Corinthians 5: 11 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. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 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.14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 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.

When you surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ your life is His life. We are his and He is ours. What are some characteristics of the "old life?" 1. Doing what I want no matter what. 2. Trying to establish myself in very secular things like dying for a successful career. 3. The pride of life. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.

As you can see, God is trying to readjust our thinking to get us away from worldliness and get us into more Godliness. In the world's eyes, I am a failure because I haven't been super successful as a self-made man who lived to succeed in gathering great riches in my bank account. But in God's kingdom, I am rich beyond measure. This sounds good, but it doesn't always come out good for the one who surrendered everything for the cause of Christ when measuring with a worldly measuring stick. So we persevere, and we continue to be steadfast in our desire to present the gospel and follow the call of Jesus. God's love compels me to live this life as His love compels all who surrender totally to Him. I have come to realize this type of commitment is not everyone's cup of tea, and that is ok. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord, even when it looks impossible to do.

God not only calls us but equips us for the journey and gives us strength to continue on. So we will continue on, and God continues to do things that seem impossible with men. When you surrender to Him, it is His Life to Live, and His spirit empowers us to live it, no matter what. Always love because love never fails.

Vesselogical Out,

David Warren