Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Our Verse of the Day today is such a powerful verse that is lived out in us as Christians. I'd love to spend some time together looking at just the impact and the power behind this verse.
It comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 15. "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."
Near-Death Experience
I don't know if you're like me, but I love to hear the stories of difficult situations with a great celebration story at the end. Stories where a near-death experience or something like that happens. I'll hear friends and those of us around that are hearing the story and it's a consistent message after: Wow, God saved your life. He must really have a plan for you. I love that moment. It's a powerful moment as we capture this near-death experience. It was very obvious that they should have died, but God spared them. We read this and think boy, he must have something for them.
Using that same frame of reference, let's look at this verse again. Jesus died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. It's similar to a near-death experience, because we were actually dead in our trespasses and sin, and because of Jesus's sacrifice, we went from dead to actually being alive in this new life. Using that same illustration of wow, near-death experience, God must have a purpose and plan for you, let's capture that in this moment with this verse.
God Must Have a Purpose and Plan
If Jesus died to give us new life, then it's like, wow, near-death experience. I almost was in a destination for an eternity in hell without God. New life experience through Christ. Wow, God must have a purpose and a plan for that. What is that? That's where this verse answers that question. That He's given us a new life so that we will no longer live for ourselves, but catch this. You would think it would say that we would live for other people, but actually catch this—because it says not live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ.
Now why is that important instead of it just saying you'll live for other people? Because if we live for Christ, instead of just living for other people, we will be able to demonstrate to other people Christ, because now we won't be living for other people to demonstrate back to them how they treat us. Who is that? Is that easy to do? That's why I have to say that's a thermometer to me, a symptom to me. If I'm starting to treat people the way they're treating me, it's a symptom to me that I'm living for myself or trying to live for other people, because now I'm reflecting themselves back to themselves instead of living for Christ.
Because He Died for Everyone
Because that's the new life that I have in Him, and because I'm living for Him, it's not contingent on how they treat me, how they receive this from me, or whether I think they deserve it. Because you know what? The first part of this verse says, "He died for everyone." I'll tell you what I know for sure. I didn't deserve that. I don't deserve that. Jesus sacrificed Himself for everyone, deserving or not, so that when we live out this life, He gave us a new life to live it for a purpose of living for Him.
Demonstrate Christ to Everyone Around You
When we do that, we are able to reflect Jesus to other people, because now we're living for Him and not living for other people. Now it's not contingent on how they respond or how they treat me or what they think of me. I am living this new life for a purpose, and that is to demonstrate Christ to everyone around me. That's a purpose of this new life, to live for Him because He died—as the last part of this verse says—"who died and was raised for them."
Goodness, what a gift that I didn't deserve, that you didn't deserve. Let's live today not contingent on what people deserve, but let's live a demonstration of that same undeserving love that Christ gave to us and demonstrate that to other people as we live for Christ today.
