Get into the extreme boat Bible Reading: II Corinthians 5
One of the reasons why we have many detestable differences in Christendom today to the point that almost every sect seems to be striving to outplay the other is because many Christians are busy pursuing their personal agenda. For example, a minister may have a personal agenda to use his church as an instrument to build his conglomerate. It will not be surprising to see such a minister cook up several messages and devise many underhanded means in order to achieve his dream – the conglomerate. Although this may be done skilfully in a way that many will still regard him as “a man of God”
Hey! That was just for illustration purposes. So let’s put illustration aside and place you on the hot seat. Are you out there pursuing God’s agenda or your personal agenda?
Oh! I remember when I got born gain, most of the messages I heard then were centred on “the man God uses”. I was instructed that “the love of God should compel me because since he died for me, I should no longer live my life to myself but for him who died for me” II Corinthians 5:14 (paraphrased). Today, most of our learning seems to be centred on “the man who uses God”. We are constantly devising selfish agendas and praying tooth and nail to see them come to past. That’s one reason why we are experiencing so many competitions within the body of Christ. Think about it, if we were all pursuing God’s agenda, we will naturally gravitate towards the same direction because God is not an author of confusion.
The Message Translation of II Corinthians 5:14 says it clearer – “Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everythingwe do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat”. Wow! This verse swells my head! First, there is a good extreme point that every Christian should be – An extreme where we acknowledge that his love should be the principal driver of our lives; an extreme where we just find ourselves in the same boat which is large enough to convey all of us. Can a boat be moving in two directions at the same time? If only we would focus on realizing God’s agenda…
Do you know that you do not own your life? Do you know that God has a purpose why he created you and it is your responsibility to identify and work towards fulfilling that purpose? Does everything you do revolve around your God-given purpose?
That’s one way to know if you are growing spiritually. Growth will open your eyes to always see the major reason why you are on earth. It will enable you to be committed to God’s agenda. It will make you always feel at home in that extreme boat where everything we do revolves around God’s agenda. It will tilt you to the angle where you proclaim like Apostle Paul that “Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us” (2 Cor. 10:13 NLT).
We have been considering the question “How do you know you are growing spiritually?” and I want you to also know that – A life not mindful of God’s purpose and agenda is a life that is in the nest of spiritual childishness. It is getting more obvious that the body of Christ needs to focus on growing up spiritually.
– tope aladenusi
