Once in a year it is good to evaluate our life and look forward to the year ahead, to see, what progress we have made and whether we are little further ahead than we were a year ago and where should we keep our focus for the next year.2 Corinthians 5:9-10: Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Here Apostle Paul is saying that his ambition here and in heaven is to please God. As believers, was that our ambition in the last year? Or will that going to be our ambition in this coming year. Suppose the Lord comes and we are in heaven next year, then what is our ambition there?.
Paul says at the end of his life, I finished my course; I have kept my faith because his ambition on earth was exactly the same as when he would be in heaven. That’s the meaning of this verse. If we were not true to this ambition in the past year, then, let’s make this as our ambition in this coming year.
The decisions we take every day in our life determines what we become. If we please God, then, we are going to have a wonderful year ahead of us. Many thinks pleasing God means giving money, to distribute tracts, give witness, doing great ministries etc. Actually, it’s not. First of all, pleasing God is in our personal life.
When Jesus was baptized the father said “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”(Math. 3:17).Jesus never preached, never traveled outside of Nazareth, never casted out demons, never did a miracle until the day of His baptism. Still Father completely pleased with Him. Many of us may not be able to do what Jesus did after baptism, but we all can please the Father as He did.
There are 2 judgment seats mentioned in the bible
1. Great white judgment throne of God (where unbelievers will be judged) Rev 20
2. Judgment seat of Christ (where believers will be judged)
Forgiveness of sins is not a reward but a free gift from God. But believers will be judged whether their lives were pleasing to God or not. They will be rewarded for their deeds.Our motives, attitude towards other people, words we spoke, thoughts we do in our life are going to be judged. All our actions are recorded in heaven. And it will be videotaped on the day we stand before the Lord. On that day everyone will know our private and public life before the judgment seat. The things that we did wrong can be wiped out if we repent and ask the Lord to forgive us.
2 Corinthians 5:11: Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.This should bring fear and reverence to God in our hearts and lead us to take our life seriously. We need to persuade men to do the same and not play around with their lives.
Philippians 2:5-8: Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus is our true example in every areas of our life. His life was pleasing to father completely. Here Holy Spirit is encouraging us to have the same attitude of Jesus. Jesus humbled Himself and obeyed His father completely and perfectly. Here we are seeing the humility of Jesus. Jesus went right down to everyone. Christ Jesus showed His humility in 3 steps. He became
1. God to man
2. Man to a bond servant
3. Bond servant to a criminal.
We learn from Jesus what humility means. So, the secret of Christian life (Philippians 2:5-8) consists of three steps.
1. Humility
2. Humility
3. Humility
Also we know that pride will make God our enemy (James 4:6). An angel became a demon in a split second as he exalted himself and infected to all other angels joined with him. The entire race of Adam got infected by this sin by the deception of Satan.
In Daniel 4, we see how God humbled Great ruler of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar. When He became humble he said all inhabitants of earth is nothing (Daniel 4:35). We are seeing the danger of exalting ourselves. We should remain as nothing always, whatever gifts we are having.
The things we glory in – wealth, beauty, position, salvation, sports, popularity, preacher, other things and self. They are zero in Gods eyes. But the thing which gives value to them is Jesus, when we put Jesus as number one in our lives. When everyone recognizes themselves as zeros, and have fellowship with each other, that becomes a church, a true body of Christ.
Humility is recognition that we are nothing but God is everything. As John 3: 30 says, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’
May God bless all of us.
