| “For the love of Christ constraineth us … that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). |
| The word “constrain” is a strong word, and means to force someone to do something, either by physical or moral strength. The Lord Jesus certainly does not force us by physical strength to do something for Him, but if we really understand how much it cost Him to save us, then His love has the force of a command. There is part of the 14th verse that I have left out, and it says, “If one died for all, then were all dead.” All of us, before we were saved, were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Now we have life — new life in Christ, but it cost the Lord Jesus the awful suffering during the three hours of darkness on the cross. His love was strong enough to take Him through that suffering, but is it strong enough to constrain us? According to this verse, yes, it is strong enough. Then why do we not respond more to the Lord’s love? |
| Perhaps we can illustrate it this way. We have all seen a magnet, and we know that a magnet attracts iron. Yet, if we had a small magnet, and we placed some small iron filings about thirty feet (about nine meters) away from it, the iron would not be attracted to the magnet. Why not? If it is a good magnet, the iron should move toward it. Of course, you would immediately say, “The magnet is too far away! You will have to bring the iron closer to it.” You would be right, for those of you who have studied physics know that the strength of a magnetic field varies as the square of the distance from it. A magnet that is one inch (about 2 ½ centimeters) from some iron has a certain amount of pull. But if the magnet is two inches away, it has only ¼ of the pull. If it is three inches away, it has only 1/9 of the pull. You can see that a small magnet that is thirty feet away from the iron does not have much of a pull left in its magnetic field. |
| It is the same with some of us as Christians. The love of Christ does constrain us, but if we are too far away from the Lord in our lives, we do not feel the “pull” of that constraint. It is those who live in the sunshine of His love that feel the power of it in them, and then respond to the Lord’s call to serve Him. |
