2 Corinthians 5

There are several verses in this passage today which stand out, but two in particular are very riveting.  The first is verse 9 which states, “Therefore whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him!”  When I contemplate this logic of Paul shouldn't this be our motive for life as well.  This simple statement sums up the way we should approach life and in so doing we will fulfill the greatest and second greatest commandment of all.  (Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.) 

If our ambition is to please God in all things and in all ways, we should be compelled to do so out of love.  That is what Paul said in the second verse I find riveting from chapter 5.  He stated in verse, "For Christ's love compels us."  I recognize I just said we should be compelled to please God out of love but you must remember that scripture says we can only love because He first loved us.(1 Jn. 4:19)  You see we do not know how to love. We do not know what love is.  And we are not capable of true love alone.  Therefore, God's love shows us the way and literally compels us to move forward to serve Him wholeheartedly out of a reciprocal love.  All we can do is emulate the Father in loving Him and others.

So the question is, "How well are you doing in making your ambition to please God, compelled by His love?  How are you doing in living for Him and loving Him?  How well are you doing in loving one another, not just the loveable but even the unlovable?  We cannot expect to have a strong relationship with God if we do not have a strong relationship with His children and His creation!

I remember hearing a preacher use this illustration one time.  Suppose I walked up to your front door to ask a favor of you and along the way your child came up to me and tried to talk with me.  However, I was annoyed and yelled at the child, even pushing the child aside.  All the while you had been observing this from your front window.  How likely would you be to oblige to the favor knowing I had treated your child this way?  Then why do we expect God to oblige our requests when we treat His children with disrespect and disdain?

Takeaways:

1.  Christ's love is our compelling factor for all we do to please Him.

2.  Our ambition should be to please God in all we do.