OUT OF OUR MINDS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 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.

2 Corinthians 5:11-13

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been framed as crazy by people for what you believe as a Christian?

I know I have.

It’s understandable I guess because people who reject Jesus and live for the ways of the world will never get why Christians are the way they are. In a world where values and sin seem to intersect and even merge with one another, Jesus followers will always be going against the grain and find resistance in doing so.

Yes, most people living for the world see Christ believers as being out of their minds because they aren’t like minded. Through His word, God draws a line between the Spirit and the flesh. Satan only promotes the evil spirits in a person and places no limits on behavior. Anything goes when it comes to worldly living and I guess this what makes it so attractive to people. They see this free-wheeling life as more appealing than surrendering their life to the One who is the life (John 14:6).

As we see in today’s passage from the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians, Christians were seen as out of their minds in first century A.D. too. Look again at Paul’s words here as he writes to the church in Corinth:

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 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. 2 Corinthians 5:11-13

Paul and his associates feared the Lord and this wasn’t a cowering in a corner, paralyzed and terrified kind of fear. Rather, fear here is used as a way to convey a deep rooted respect that the Apostle and the other Gospel missionaries had for God. This respect and reverence were so deep that the Christ believers sought to live in absolute obedience to everything that the Lord had commanded them to do. It was this life attitude that they tried to get others to adopt and in this case, it was the Corinthian Christians.

God sees everything and nothing is hidden from His sight. Paul knew that the reverent, respectful, obedient life that he and the others had adopted would please the Lord who saw the legitimacy in their loyalty as they sought to be Christian role models for others.

So what do we learn here?

When we commit ourselves fully to God, we will find our lives running counter to the world’s ways, most of the time radically so but we should wear our spiritual “craziness” like a badge of honor because we are “out of our minds” for God and pleasing Him through seeking and abiding with His will and way is all that really matters as we live this thing called life.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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