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Compelled by Love
by Ikem Grigbsy The Apostle Paul makes a powerful statement in 2Cor 5:14 (EMTV) "For the love of Christ compels us, having concluded this: that if one died for all, then all died". The first part of this verse is so powerful to me, it always stirs my heart. Paul is telling us that the driving force of his ministry was compelled by love. Everything he went through for the sake of the Gospel was because of the "love of Christ". The love that constrained Paul was a love that caused him to confront idol worship, pushed him to heal the sick, motivated him to lay down his life and give everything for the sake of the Good news. This love encounter that Paul had change him literally into another man! I believe this love that he possessed or that possessed him was twofold. First, he was so in love with his father that he was motivated to do whatever daddy God told him do. In other words, this love caused him to have an attitude of "winning the lost at any cost". The second part is what I believe caused Paul to do great exploits for God! Paul had intimate knowledge of the father's love for him. Hallelujah!! When you know without a shadow of a doubt that the God of all creation loves you, you then can go through anything (and we know Paul went through some stuff). Romans 5:5 tell us that this same love has been given to us by the Holy Spirit. Every born again believer, Christian, church person or whatever name you want to call yourself. You have the love of God on the inside of you. Like Paul, this love should be the motivating factor in our lives. It should push us, it should drive us, and it should force us and motivate us. We should be able to say the love of God compels me to win the lost, to love the people, to speak the truth in love, to forgive, to trust God, give to the poor, to live a life of radical faith for Jesus Christ! I believe the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is experiencing the greatest awakening the world has ever seen and I believe it is happening because of the Love of God. May this love have us to speak like King David and say "Is there not a cause"? "He so loved the world" and I'm compelled. People need the church to be the demonstrated Body of Christ not just a building we go to on Sunday morning! We must remember 1john 4:10 (read all of chapter 4 for true context). We love God because He loved us first. God loves us, now we can love Him and love others! Everything we do as believers should flow through Love. Love corrects, Love heals, Love forgives, Love gives, Love speaks the truth, and Love covers. May we be like Paul and be possessed by the love that the father has for us. When we are possessed by His love it will be a force in our lives, in our churches, in our schools, in our universities, in our culture and government. Then people will know that we are the disciples of Jesus when we are compelled by the love of God. Ikem and Robin are the founders of an international evangelistic ministry that has touched the nations of Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Belize and Costa Rica. During their time traveling the world they have seen the miracle working power of God on a consistent basis. The gifts of the Holy Spirit operate an Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |