Pleasing Him =

Almost every sentence of today’s reading (2 Corinthians 5) is a “Wow, I should have that memorized” verse. But here’s what I’d point out (and also why we moved our family away from the church, friends, and place we love in Virginia Beach to Las Vegas) —

Paul (the author) is talking about how we should fear God (verse 11) and because of that (and also because we love Him) our goal should be to please Him (verse 9) and then he launches into this whole thing about how we try to persuade people (verse 11) to be reconciled to God (verses 16-20).

Why? Why, if he’s talking about the goal of living a life that is pleasing to God, doesn’t he then talk about praying to Him, having intimacy with Him, obeying Him, singing to Him, giving to Him? Don’t those all please Him? YES. But, in my understanding of the Bible, not as much as our trying to persuade people to be reconciled to Him.

Why? Well, if you had a child who ran away or was kidnapped, and your friend said they wanted to please you, would you rather have them talk to you, develop intimacy with you, do chores for you, sing to you, give to you, OR help you get your child home and into your arms?!? I think the correct answer is: DUH.

And that’s why Paul goes from “Let’s please God with our lives!” straight to “Let’s help people be reconciled to Him!” because He loves His lost, wandering, and kidnapped children, and what pleases Him the most is having them home again.