Why Bother? - Audio

Relationships are hard. People are difficult. This is what my bank teller told me when I suggested that the meaning of life is found in relationships. She said that people had hurt her and disappointed her and so from now on she would restrict herself to her husband and kids. Many people feel this way so why bother? The answer, as always, begins in God’s word. God tells us that when we become a Christian we become a “New Creature”. Fine but what were we before and what are we afterwards? Our prior identity is quite obvious – each one of us is an individual. We are unique and separate from each other. This separateness and uniqueness is very important to us. We protect it, fight for it, brag about it, and defend it. But when we become a follower of Jesus, God supernaturally works a fundamental change in our identity. Firstly, he actually joins us by living in us! Secondly, he actually joins us spiritually to other Christians. Rom.12:5 “… so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others.” The word “belongs” used here means that we are spiritually connected to each other. It also means that we have rights of ownership to each other. This is a very high degree of connectedness! It is very similar to the miracle that takes place in marriage. The Bible says that the two become one. This means that a new creature is formed of the two individuals – a marriage! If the marriage is to succeed both people will have to stop thinking of themselves as individuals only. The Bible goes on to say that because of our connectedness we share a common fate together. Rom.12:15 “…rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.” We are so joined that we share our joy and pain. This is not just a psychological effect of being part of a group sharing like values. This is a spiritual work of God. But why? What is the point of this miracle of connectedness? There are several reasons. Enjoy Mark's sermon. Share and subscribe to this YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCShVVuSsDrK7QDOB09UJa3g Website - http://mark.cowpersmith.org/blog-posts/