Compelled by Love

“The love of Christ compels us.”

~ 2 Corinthians 5:14

“We regard no one according to the flesh… if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

~ 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Christ’s love fuels our passion and holds us tightly together. It compels us to live beyond ourselves. We no longer live self-absorbed lives, driven by our own interests and perspectives. We refuse to evaluate people by outward appearances or by limited human insight. Instead, we see with eyes of faith.

In Christ, we are not simply reformed, improved, or refurbished. We are made completely new. Our old identity is gone. Our life of sin is gone. The power of Satan over us is gone. The religious striving to earn God’s approval is gone. Our old relationship with the world and our old mindsets are gone. We have become entirely new people. Everything is fresh and new because of our union with Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Christ’s love has the first and last word in all that we do. He included everyone in His death so that everyone could be included in His life – a far better life than we could ever live on our own.

We no longer evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We look deeper. We look inside. God reconciled us to Himself, and now He calls us to reconcile with others. We are to drop our differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between us. He placed the wrong on Him who never did wrong, so that we might be made right with God.

Everything we do is to honor Him. The fear of the Lord motivates us, and Christ’s love constrains our actions.

Thoughtful Reflection

We do not live to please ourselves. We are brand new people on the inside, transformed by the Holy Spirit. This is not a superficial change. It is an entirely new life with an entirely new perspective.