2 Corinthians 5:14
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
On January 6, 1956, Jim Elliot and four of his friends flew into a sandy beach in Ecuador, not knowing what awaited them there. They were willing to leave behind all that they had in life, including their wives, children, and families back home in order to take the gospel to the Auca Indians, a tribe well known for there hostility to outsiders. Two days later they were savagely murdered by the Aucas, the very ones they with whom they had hoped to share a message of love. These men, all sound in body and mind, appeared crazy to the rest of the world. What would compel them to do such a thing? What would cause them to put their lives in so much danger?
They were compelled by Christ’s love. 2 Corinthians tells of a group of Christians who were living to persuade others to believe the impossible: that God cares enough for the world that He would send His Son to die for our sins. To the world, that fact seems ridiculous. However, because of what Christ has done out of love for us, we are compelled to live for Him and not for ourselves. That means doing what it takes to share Him with others around us.
What are you doing to share Christ with those around you? It could be in school, at work, in your community, or maybe even in a land where the gospel has not been heard. Christ loved us enough to do something amazing. It is this love that should compel us to live for Him.