Sometimes, as evangelicals, we are totally focused on getting out of here. We argue petulantly about this or that doctrine, but Paul says homecoming is not the main thing.
So how do we cheerfully please God?
Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.*
Settle our relationships with each other, [because] God put the world square with himself through the Messiah.*
Be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. The most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way.**Paul says to the Corinthians:
Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way.When are we small? When we live without the love of Christ energizing our relationships with God and each other. Better to be wrong with love, than right without it. God can correct the wrong, yet love will have maintained the relationship. Being right without love will put us on treacherous ground when, standing before God, we will have to account for squandering the love that Christ died to give us.
The love of Christ, furnished through his excruciating death for being innocent, is our greatest asset. Every time we step foot into the land of grudges, unforgiveness and stinginess, we squander that asset.
Paul, throughout his writings, maintains that the love of Christ changes us from the inside out. It is ours to love Christ first, meditate on that, allow it to take up residence and change the view from our heart. Then our head will fairly run to restore relationships with each other.
Loving and restoring each other is the overarching way to please God.
If we love while here in exile, the homecoming will be without compare.
*2 Corinthians 5
**2 Corinthians 9
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