I was looking at 2 Corinthians
5:6-9, "Therefore we are always confident and know
that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by
faith, not by sight. We are
confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the
Lord. So we make
it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." Paul is reflective
and contemplative. Because of the Risen Lord, he learned how to live in
confidence. Paul could state that his past was forgiven, his present was
blessed, and his future was sure and secure.
Paul
believed and proclaimed that the Lord of Heaven and earth has promised him a
place in the Eternal City "where no storm clouds rise". Because of that
assurance Paul could face the storms of this life with greater courage. Paul
believed that the unseen Jesus, the Risen One, sees all we do. This motivates
and propels us to do more and better than we would otherwise. As C.S. Lewis
wrote, "The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman
Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who
abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on earth, precisely because their
minds were occupied with Heaven" ( Mere
Christianity). When we walk by faith and not
by sight, this is more than faith in Christ's appearing. The faith we walk by
sends us out among the sick, the oppressed, and the lost to do what we may for
them in Christ's name while we are able. We live with the confidence that we
one day will see Him. In the meantime, we live to please
Him.
Paul was a man with a
magnificent obsession. He believed Christ was the be-all and end-all of
everything. Not only did Paul see his own life as stitched and hemmed by
Christ, but all human life, as well. "One died for all," he declared.
"Therefore, all died." "We should therefore no longer live for ourselves but
for the One who died and rose."
Behind us is Christ dying
and rising for us. Before us is Christ poised to give us what we have coming to
us. All around us are the walking dead in need of resurrection! We
must proclaim the Good News of Our Lord Jesus in Word and in deed, persuading
people of His marvelous love and His ultimate justice. We don't belong to us
anymore. We are "Under New Management."
In
Christ,
Brown
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