"We Owe Him!"

Scripture: “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” -2 Corinthians 5:15, NIV

As I reflect upon my life and where I am in God and in my physical life, many people have played various roles. I think of my Mama who first and foremost, brought me into this world. Not only did she do that, she taught me my core principles about God, loving people, the basics for success in school, and other things. I think of my wife that God blessed me with over six years ago. Through her, I learned about a greater dimension of the word love, a greater dimension of the word sacrifice, how to be the husband/friend she needs, learned about other life lessons, and other things. I think of the pastors I sat under during my twenty years of knowing God for myself. Through them, I have learned more about God’s Word, learned how to apply God’s Word within my life, how to be a godly man, how to use authority in a correct manner, and other things. I mention these people because in so many words, I owe who I am to them and others. If truth were told, we all have a set of people who has cultivated our lives and brought us to who we are on today. If we investigate this thing from a God standpoint, we find out that we, as men and women of God, owe Him! Him being our Lord and Savior Jesus! Today’s text reveals to us how we try to pay what we owe to Christ.

Today’s main scripture is located in the second letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. Scholars record that today’s chapter of focus, Chapter 5, outlines the basis of Christian faith including the “newness” of man (v. 17) and the exchange of our sins for the righteousness of Jesus Christ (v. 21). This chapter also deals with a discussion of our heavenly dwelling (verses 1 – 10) and the ministry of reconciliation (verses 11 – 21). If we take a good look at ourselves, we could all use a little help/growth in the area of reconciliation. This is critical because we do not want to burn bridges we may have to cross again! Within the discussion on the ministry of reconciliation is where we find out what we owe Christ.

We owe Christ, first and foremost, because “He died for all”. Ladies and gentlemen, how many people do you know will die for you? How many people do you know that will sacrifice their life, their homes, their cars, their money, and anything else for you? Honestly, I bet the answer is none or maybe one or two. Jesus Christ, the Lamb, the Goat, the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star, died for you and for me, period! As He died for all, He did it “that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again”. In other words, we owe Christ! What we owe Christ is our lives! We owe Christ the fruit of praise on our lips! We owe Christ the honor and glory that’s due to Him! We owe Christ a life of striving for perfection in Him! We owe Christ our best, not our worst! We owe Christ a life of sacrifice to our fellow man! We owe Christ a life of help to our fellow man! We owe Christ a life of love to our fellow man! We owe Christ a life that is pleasing to Him! We owe Him a life that lacks backbiting, tattling, “hating”, envy, fornication, adultery, and other things! We owe Christ the best of us! Yes, He came that we may have life and have it more abundantly, but He wants us to live our lives for Him because it’s the least we owe Him!

In closing, I bless God for those people who have blessed me through my lifetime. I owe them a lot, but not like I owe Jesus Christ! If you think about it, we all owe Jesus because He died for us! All He wants from us is for us to live for Him. Will it get tough? Yes, it will! Just think about the sacrifice He gave for you! When you do that, it’ll make you want to give Him your best!