For Our Sake...
Good morning, Immanuel. May the riches of His grace, for our sake, fill us with joy so that we live for His sake with renewed energy!
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
We want to live for the sake of Christ. Later, in 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul says, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” What a bold resolve! For the sake of Christ, Paul was willing to live with a loose grip on everything, all in pursuit of following Jesus.
We can admire this resolve. But so often, when we begin to compare our zeal to that of the Apostle Paul, we get discouraged, fearing that we don’t have the same “stuff” the Apostle Paul had. But Paul’s secret to living “for the sake of Christ” was not found in the strength of his personal zeal. He wasn’t a Navy SEAL Christian who somehow tapped into a hidden reservoir of self-motivation. What enabled Paul to live “for the sake of Christ” in 2 Corinthians 12:10 was the mega-reality of 2 Corinthians 8:9 - that, for our sake, Jesus did something for us first!
The grace of our Lord is that though he was rich, he became poor for your sake. The logic of the Christian life is not that our great devotion motivates an otherwise reluctant God; but rather that God’s great devotion motivates an otherwise cold heart in us. Before we can freely live for Christ's sake, we must first be compelled by what Christ did for our sake. May the riches of His grace, for our sake, fill us with joy so that we live for His sake with renewed energy!
TENTH GENERATION UPDATE!
Our church gathered on Wednesday night to hear a significant Tenth Generation update. Learn more about that by visiting tenthgeneration.org! Pray. Give. Share.
This helps, God be praised! Thank you so much Tony 🙏🏼