The Compelling Majesty of His Power

"The love of Christ compels us..." (2 Corinthians 5:14)

Paul said that he was overpowered, subdued, and held as in vise by "the love of Christ." Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God. We tend so often to be controlled simply by our own experience. The one thing that gripped and held Paul, to the exclusion of everything else, was the love of God. "The love of Christ compels us..." When you hear that coming from the life of a man or woman it is unmistakable. You will know that the Spirit of God is completely unhindered in that person's life.
When we are born again by the Spirit of God, our testimony is based soley on what God has done for us, and rightly so. But that will change and be removed forever once you "receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..." (Acts 1:8). Only then will you begin to realize what Jesus can do--that is basic and understood--but "witness to me..." We will accept everything that happens as if it were happening to Him, whether we receive praise or blame, persecution or reward. No one is able to take this stand for Jesus Christ who is not totally complelled by themajesty of His power. It is the only thing that matters, and yet it is strange that it's the last thing we as Christian workers realize. Paul said that he was gripped by the love of God and that is why he acted as he did. People could perceive hi as mad or sane--he did not care. There was only one thing he lived for--to persuade people of the coming judgment of God and to tell them of "the love of Christ." This total surrender to "the love of Christ" 'is the only thing that will bear fruit in your life. And it will always leave the mark of God's holiness and His power, never drawing attention to your personal holiness.
~Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

I Naomi ask myself, is it the love of Christ that motivates my every action, my every thought, every word I speak to my husband, to my friends, to those I don't know, every breath I take, how I spend my time, my money?...am I so compelled by Christ's love for me and for humanity that I can't get enought of Him, that I am in His Word daily, that I speak of Jesus and His mighty deeds every chance I get? So much that my heart, like Jesus', breaks at the thought that my next door neighbor, or the man on the street corner begging for money or food may not know the peace of God and his love and forgiveness? Am I any different? No, I am not. Only that Jesus' righteousness is what covers my black heart of sin. The love of Christ compels me...Jesus may it be so.