Drive

This weekend at Illuminate our theme has been “Drive.” Since I am writing this in advance of the weekend, I am leaning on the Spirit’s leading to mesh this with David’s lessons. I know that the key passage he will be using (used) this weekend is 2 Corinthians 2:14-15…
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 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.
If we are compelled by Christ’s love, that means we are driven by something working in us and among us. We shouldn’t wait for a youth minister, preacher, or someone else to push us. We should be led by the Spirit of God. As Paul says in Romans 8:9-11, You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
This means our focus as Christians is not to do what is right. Rather, we are called to pursue the One who is righteous. When we focus on works, we miss the point. That would be like pushing your car. When we are filled and led by the Spirit, it’s like having a tank full of gas and using the accelerator. While not a perfect analogy, I hope it makes the point.
If our Christianity is about trying to do the right things without the righteousness of God living in us through the Spirit, it feels like pushing a car without gas. When we allow God’s Spirit to dwell in us, connecting with and pursing God’s will can be much easier.
That doesn’t mean things will be easier, it means that following God will be easier in the sense that it will be more clear. Just like driving a car through mud can still be difficult, pushing a car through mud is virtually impossible. So it is with us and the Spirit of God.
At the same time, we cannot forget that there is an essential communal nature of God’s work. God’s greatest power and work come when we live as the body of Christ. God himself works in community as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Can we expect – as human beings created in the image of God – to function any differently?
This means that to be compelled, driven, by Christ’s love we must embody that love towards God, other Christians, and every other human being we encounter. Without the love of Christ in us, through us, and among us, we will find it difficult to allow that love to drive us.

shine!
Jason