Compelled?

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (2 Cor 5:14-15). Interesting phrase ... "the love of Christ controls us." The King James and others translates it "constrains." The Contemporary English Version (CEV) says "We are ruled by ..." The Berean Study Bible (BSB) says, "Christ’s love compels us." The word in Greek means "to compress," "to hold together," or, figuratively, to compel. That is, the word refers to pressure applied to produce a result.

Paul says that love ... compels, applies pressure, has some controlling factor in our lives. What exactly does the love of Christ pressure us to do? "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Cor 5:17). Isn't that interesting? Christ's love pushes us ... to change -- out with the old; in with the new. The old is the trespasses we commit (2 Cor 5:18-19) and the new is ...? "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:20). The new is that we become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor 5:21) and operate as ambassadors, representatives of Christ here on Earth. We have His power and His Word to carry out His mission where we are until ... He calls us home again.

I try to keep that in mind. We are not of this world (John 17:16). We are "aliens and strangers" (1 Peter 2:11). Compelled, then, by the love of Christ, we must live as ambassadors and not residents, as forgiven and not damned, as righteous and not unrighteous people ... representatives of Christ. No one who is in Christ remains unchanged. And living like we are of this world is contrary to the truth.