To Encourage You

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

One of the defining characteristics of one who possesses eternal life is the purpose for which that person’s life is lived.  If a person is self-centered, i.e., one who “lives for themselves” as stated in the passage above, it is a clear indication that they’ve never been saved.  You see, the death that Christ died dealt a death blow to self-preservation that is the hallmark of life lived in the flesh and void of the Holy Spirit. But to have eternal life, that old life must die.  The self-centeredness that is the outworking of sin can only be eliminated in that way. No effort to “turn over a new leaf” or “do better” will ever succeed, for as God’s Word has told us “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?” (Jeremiah 13:23).  In other words, it’s not within the capacity of a person to change his or her essential nature.  No, the only way change is possible is for that old person to die and to then to be born again with a completely new nature, i.e., the nature that is born of the Spirit of God and into the family of God.

So, what are the marks of that nature? How does one know if he or she has it? Well, as the passage above clearly states, we will no longer live for ourselves but for Him Who for our sake died and was raised.  In our heart of hearts, we will no longer make decisions based on what is best for our own self-interest but on what glorifies the Son of God Who gave His life for us. This will be reflected in a new trajectory in our life; a trajectory that is directed more and more towards God and His will for us, rather than away from Him with a focus on ourselves.  This new direction will affect every area of our life, such as in how we use our money, how we use our time, and how we view and treat our neighbors. It will come out in our words, for the truth is that “of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).  We will have a longing to spend time with others in the church, which is the body of Christ. We will have a desire to read and meditate on the Word of God, for it is through that Word that we grow in our knowledge of the One Who loved us and gave Himself for us.

A person can no more change their essential character than a leopard can change its spots. Only God can perform such a miracle, just as He alone can make “The wolf (to) dwell with the lamb, and the leopard (to) lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together” (Isaiah 11:6). 

So, does this change in essential inner nature describe you? Has your heart been transformed? Have all things become new, because the miracle working Jesus has made them new?  If so, it will be the love of Christ that will control you, motivate you, and be the defining characteristic of your life, for any other love is nothing more than a reflection of a life without Christ and of an old nature that has never been put to death.