2 Corinthians 5:15 (ESV)
And
he [Jesus] died for all, that those who live might no longer live for
themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
The resurrection is not just a
myth told to motivate us to try again, or to start fresh. It is not about
Spring cleaning, or turning over a new leaf. The resurrection is about new life
that flourishes even as this body dies. The resurrection is about a radically
different way to live. It is about the life of Christ flowing through us to
take Good News to a lost and broken world that desperately needs to know the
living God. In Christ we have the Good News. In Christ we have eternal life. In
Christ we have the power of the risen Lord dwelling in us by his Spirit. But
God didn’t give us that life for us. He gave it to us for the sake of others.
Our salvation is not for our personal comfort any more that
Jesus life on this earth was for his. He came for us. Now he calls us to die
for others that they too might live. Because the resurrection follows death, we
don’t give up hope. Because his death bought our life, and our death brings the
message of life to those around us, we don’t give up hope. The Apostle Paul
understood this. He was willing to give his life that the Corinthians might
know Christ. He was now calling them to give their lives that others might come
to know the life of Christ as well. He understood what Jesus meant when he
said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
It is time we stop being so
concerned about how God makes me feel, or whether he can fix our problems. It
is time we heed Jesus words, “If you want to be my disciples you need to take
up your cross daily and follow me.” It is time that we say with the those who
have gone before us, “I die so that others may live.” It is time that we stop doing church for us,
and realize that we are the church for the benefit of those outside. It is not
about us. How is God calling you to die today so that others might hear his
Good News?
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