Are you Crazy for Jesus?
Question for you? Are you crazy for Jesus? Does the world or the church you attend think you are a little extreme? Maybe you aren’t crazy after all.
The Apostle Paul tells us the following in 2 Corinthians.
11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, 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. 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.
There are some really good points in these few verses. In verse 11 Paul talks about the understanding that we need to work hard to persuade others to know the Lord and to follow Him. Are you working hard to persuade others or is that too crazy?
Verse 13 tells us that if it seems we are crazy it is to bring glory to God. Crazy is a relative term. Crazy can be something that is extreme or out of the normal way. But what is the normal way? Would you say that the Apostle Paul is crazy or is he just doing what he is supposed to be doing?
Do you want to bring glory to God? Have you forgotten all that Christ has done for you? Maybe we aren’t crazy enough.
Verse 14 shows us what controls Paul, it is Christ’s love. Our family shares the gospel 5 nights a week. We don’t do it for extra credit. We don’t do it to earn a place in heaven because that is impossible. We do it because we love God and we love people.
If it is our responsibility, ALL CHRISTIANS to share our faith and we have been entrusted with the GREATEST MESSAGE in the world, why wouldn’t we share?
The last verse tells us the purpose of Christ. He died so that we would no longer live for ourselves but live for Christ. Our lives our not our own. Christ owns us. He bought us with his own blood.
Paul understood his fearful responsibility to share with others and to work hard to persuade them. He understood God’s love for him and for others and that LOVE controlled him. It seemed crazy, but it isn’t crazy at all. It is actually what is expected from God!
Blessings to you!
Ryan
If you would like some resources or suggestions on where to start, please send me an email. I would love to encourage you in this great work!