erebus-cross2 “It troubles a lot of people that Christ died to exalt Christ. Boiled down to its essence, 2 Corinthians 5:15 says Christ died for us that we might live for him. In other words, he died for us so that we make much of him. Bluntly, Christ died for Christ.  The reason this troubles people is that it sounds vain. It doesn’t seem like a loving thing to do.  So it seems to turn the suffering of Christ into the very opposite of what the Bible says it is, namely, the supreme act of love. But in fact it’s both. Christ’s dying for his own glory and his dying to show love are not only both true, they are both the same.  Christ is unique. No one else can act this way and call it love.  Christ is the only human in the universe who is also God and therefore infinitely valuable. He is infinitely beautiful in all his  moral perfections. He is infinitely wise and just and good and strong.   To see him and know him is more satisfying than having all that earth can offer.  Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:7-8).   The most loving prayer Jesus ever prayed was this: “Father, I desire  that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where  I am, to see my glory” (John 17:24). For this Christ died. This is love—suffering to give us everlasting enjoyment, namely himself.”

He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:15

Reflecting on this  fact I recall  reading this verse years ago and thinking how Jesus literally “served” his enemies by transforming them into loving servants of Him.   This was not a vindictive act but as John Piper says, a loving act.  Essentially he died so that his enemies could see him for who he was…more glorious, more beautiful, more satisfying, more valuable than anything the world can offer.  Personally, without this loving act, I would not have seen him this way.  Only after this change was I able to see there was more to life than work and play.  Life was not my little world of routine, with its wants and desires for food, comfort and security. “ I” was not the reason for my own existence.  When God opened my mind [spirit] to the Gospel message, it became clear that I was very weak and small and He was infinitely fulfilling.  My insignificance was contrasted against His majesty.  Yet, because of the love shown by God through Christ’s sacrifice, God shares with sinners a new vision, a new reality and a new destiny with those who receive His Son by faith. 

Questions:   Have you ever considered that Jesus died not just so that 10, 20, 50 or 100 years down the road you could go to heaven?  Have you considered that eternal salvation has a present component, a future component and an everlasting component?  How does 2 Corinthians 5:15 fit into the belief that you can go to church, pray a prayer, or sign a card or walk an aisle,  continue to live selfishly, and insist on claiming the name of Christ?

Quote from “The 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die”.

Questions and reflections by me.

Picture – The cross at Mount Erebus, Antarctica, commemorating the 1979 Air New Zealand Crash near Mount Erebus.

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