Enter into your purpose

Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Who are you living for? It is a valid question, is it not? We wake up each new day, actively choosing to live for someone or something. The one given over to substance abuse might not realize it, but they are living for a 'thing', not for someone. The one so concerned about what others think isn't living for themselves as much as they are those others who consume their thoughts, actions, and heart. If we choose to live for Christ, we are making a different choice - to lay down our lives, allowing his life to flow through us. We receive a new life in Christ Jesus. We choose to live differently when we say 'yes' to Jesus. Someone may not realize the life change that is about to transpire when they say 'yes', but there is no denying it - change is happening, will continue to happen, and isn't done until Jesus says it is done! 

We no longer live for ourselves - we live for Christ Jesus. Does that mean we no longer think for ourselves, blindly following some religious rigmarole? Rigmarole is really just a long set of actions or words without any real purpose. Christ gives our lives purpose. Before saying 'yes' to him, our purpose may have been to find whatever brought us immediate pleasure, a budding relationship that made us feel good, or some other endless pursuit that really didn't pan out as we hoped. When we said 'yes' to him, our 'purpose' changed. Purpose is nothing more than the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. We were created to enjoy relationship with God - sin interfered with that purpose. In Christ Jesus, our sin is erased, we enter into our purpose, and our reason for 'existing' becomes clear.

We 'act' differently because our purpose changes. We 'choose' differently because we find our purpose, sometimes for the very first time. This new life isn't one of indentured servitude - it is one of freedom. It could come as a surprise to some, but following Jesus is not onerous, but rather freeing. We don't know what will truly fulfill us until Christ enters into the spaces of our lives that were created to be filled with his Spirit. Just sayin...