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.
Thoughts from Katie Fox
Dive Deeper
Behind the Scenes
Do you remember the way we used to take pictures? With film? I grew up in Arizona and as a kid I remember those old 80’s photos. I remember seeing pictures of the Grand Canyon. The pictures were a bit yellowed and the detail wasn’t great and it seemed like it only captured the smallest corner of that canyon, but still, it intrigued me. I’d find myself getting lost in that photo, imagining what it would be like to be there.
As believers we know that this world is not the end. Rather, there is something greater that awaits us. We groan in anticipation, in our weakness, longing for the greater that will come, even if we don’t recognize it.
But often I find myself distracted with this world, just like I would that photo of the Grand Canyon. I look so intently for the satisfaction of this world that, and like that photo, this world is only a cheap copy of what is to come. It can never truly satisfy. Why then do we strive for what is decaying?
This world is so fleeting and WILL pass away. God has made us for this very purpose, not that we should live for this word, but the next! Our eternal selves are our true identity! This body and this world are only shadows of what is to come.
Make it Real
Paul writes that it is the love of Christ that compels him, even controls him. What controls you? Is it the world: image, prestige, money, power, laziness, comfort, sex, loneliness, depression, fear or anxiety? What do you turn to in times of stress, anger, or fear? Is it Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, the one who frees us from our vices, our pain, our fear and suffering? Or do we turn to our vices?
We all need a reprieve from this world. And that is why we so often turn to our vices; to escape. So why not escape to our hope and truth? That’s what Jesus did! Jesus often would get away to find peace with the Father away form this world. Lets escape to the truth, our future. Dream of God, dream of our new bodies, dream of reunion with loved ones and most of all dream of perfect fellowship with the One who loves us more than we can dream.
There is a reason that you are still here today! Yahweh has a mission and a purpose for you! Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) He knew that living in this world was not about satisfying himself, but rather to be on mission for Jesus. He knew that the next life was his reward. In verse 15 it says that Christ died that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Jesus. Our bodies are not our own. We have been bought with a price. (1 Cor 6:19-20)
Later into my childhood I got the chance to ride the train to the Grand Canyon. For the first time I got to stand on that rim and years later I got the chance to hike down and out in a day with a friend of mine. The rush of running down those colorful canyon walls, the clear blue skies, and the deer that seemed as though they were running with us and cooling our hot feet in the cool of the Colorado River was more than I could have imagined just looking at that old photo. That crapy 5×7 was nothing compared to what I beheld! It was beautifully exhilarating!
What if I took that old yellowed photo, framed it and placed it on a mantle? What if I lived for that photo? Yet, just outside my window was the real thing. How foolish would that be? But we do the same thing. We idolize this world, a cheap knockoff of what is promised to us in God’s Word. We will stand accountable for what we invest in. Don’t throw away eternity for this life, rather live this life for eternity.
Jesse Garnett
ACF Devo Team
End in Prayer
Jesus,
Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for giving me a new life, an eternal life! Thank you for giving me a purpose and a mission far greater than I could have ever dreamed. Jesus, please help me to remember my mission in the mundane. Give me the desire to love and serve my brother and sister in the Church. Give me a passion to love, seek and serve the lost. I ask that you would put a yearning in my chest for what you yearn for! Thank you that what is decaying WILL be swallowed up by life!
Amen!