New Life

On this Easter Monday, let us reflect on how the life, death and resurrection of Christ compels us to follow Him.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

"For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." - 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (NIV)

"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." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)

An Imperfect Illustration

"I love Newcastle United. The people around the city and the fans have been incredible with me. I really appreciate it. I don't deserve it with some of the things I've been up to since I signed for Newcastle. I don't deserve that backing but, for whatever reason, I've got it and I'm determined to repay them." - Joey Barton, 19 Mar 10

Time will tell whether Joey Barton means what he says, whether his faith is made complete by what he does. But that is not the point.

If the limited backing of Newcastle fans compels Joey Barton to repay them (us), how much more should the unconditional love of God in Christ compel us to follow Him!