7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Rugged individualism, a philosophy made popular by former US president Herbert Hoover before the Great Depression, may be a bedrock of conservative political theory, but it has limited application in the Christian life and community. The idea that individuals should be able to look out for themselves is balanced by our concern for one another. As believers we have not given up our rights, but we have handed them over to the Lord, at a very fundamental level.
Paul speaks to Christians in our passage today, “For not one of us lives for himself…” We are not islands to ourselves; we are no longer in our minds the center of the universe (which we so arrogantly tend to think). And this is to be true for all of life, including the end of life, which we call death. It needs to be rehearsed continually:
[If] we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. (Rom 14:8)
Repeat that over and over to yourself until it sinks in. Write it down on a 3×5 card and keep in your pocket, reviewing it often until you have it memorized.
The goal of Christ coming to justify us, redeem us, forgive us, reconcile us, and save us was so that we would live fully and absolutely with Him as Lord over every aspect of our lives. This is why we should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). It was “to this end Christ died and lived again.” This is the cause that put Christ on the cross: God’s desire to bring us under His lordship. This was God’s purpose. His plan of salvation lies in a desire for His image bearers to fulfill their purpose in being created, to give Him the glory as the Lord over all creation. We need to remind ourselves that in salvation we confessed “Jesus as Lord” (Rom 10:9).
Paul writes in another place, “[A]ccording to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil 1:20). If this is our goal, then we must not go through life with our ultimate motivation being our rugged individualism or our rights. But we are committed to living for the One who saved us, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, I renew my commitment to live for You as my one and only Lord.
0 Comments