Dear Disciple: Out of Our Mind

Dear Disciple,

“If we are ‘out of our mind,’ as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:13-15

I invite you to consider: what effect does our Master’s death “for all” have on your life right now?  Our brother, the apostle Paul, offers us at least a part of his answer in his words quoted above.  The love that Jesus has for us and the love that we, in turn, have for Him compels us to live for Him – even when doing so makes us seem “out of our mind” to the onlooking world.

It is crucial that we realize that the death our Master died so long ago was not just for our benefit.  When He redeemed us by His blood, He purchased us for service to His Father and to Himself (also see Revelation 1:5-6).  Yes, He set us free from the horrors of being dominated by the tyrants who once ruled us – sin, Satan, and death – but our freedom from these must mean loyalty and service to the true King and Master.  As Paul wrote to a different community of disciples, “[The Father] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves” (Colossians 1:13).  We weren’t rescued so that we might try to be our own masters; we were rescued so that we might willingly give ourselves to our true Master.

Are you prepared to live today as a servant of the One who died to purchase you?  Are you willing to see yourself as a slave – as the possession of another?  Can you accept that even as your forgiveness and eternal life were purchased on the tree, so was your loyalty, submission, and obedience?  This issue can hardly be overstated, Disciple!  He whom we gratefully adore as our Savior must be the same One we willingly obey as our Master.

As offensive as the idea of being someone’s slave might be to us, we have only to stop and consider who this Someone is.  He is no tyrant.  He is not cruel.  He does not seek to demean or abuse us.  No, it is His love that compels us, after all!  We love Him because He first loved us.  We choose to serve Him because, if He so loved us that He gave all of Himself to rescue us, we can trust Him to do only what is best for us as we give all of ourselves to please Him.

Loving and serving the saving Master,

Ryan

Ryan Parish

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