In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, the Apostle Paul reveals what controls his life. It is the love of Christ. It was this love that motivated him. In everything that he did for God and the Church, his one controlling or governing factor was Christ’s love. 

The word control or constrain could also mean to restrain. Paul was saying that it was the love of Christ that restrained him from acting for himself. And instead, it motivated him to act for God and the church. Like Paul, we recognise that we must be motivated by this same love Christ has for us. He took on human flesh to die for us. Being affected by His great love, we must make obeying His will and living for His glory the controlling factor of our lives.

Christ’s love makes it the overpowering reason for us to devote ourselves to love and serve Him. For He offered Himself as the sacrificial lamb to die for us, once and for all. We do not need another sacrifice for our redemption. He took our place to save us from eternal death.  

As human beings, we are all affected by Adam’s sin because he is the head of humanity. We inherited his sin in nature and had to die. But now, as Christians, we participate in Christ’s substitutionary death for us. Paul is saying, we who have a relationship with Christ should feel the effect of his vicarious death for us. We should no longer live for ourselves but for Christ, who had died on our behalf.

Paul’s assertion here is that our Savior is alive, and we are not serving a dead Savior. He is our risen Christ, seated at God’s right hand, interceding for us. He must be the object of our love and the reason for our service. It is to Him we dedicate our lives and offer our allegiance and service. 

As Christians, living and serving Christ is not just our obligation but also our desire. His love compels us to think, say, and act congruently. We are bought at a price. We are not our own. Therefore, we must honour Him in everything we think, say, and do.