Philippians 2:17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
2 Corinthians 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
These verses characterize not only the Apostle Paul’s labors for The Lord, but the essence of his life. Poured out and spent. Paul was all in to give all out. Doing without, suffering want and personal hardship, enduring rejection and loneliness …. he lived with reckless abandon for the glory of Jesus only. I wonder how many times this man’s heart had been absolutely broken by betrayals, by false accusations, by rejections; and yet still his life was one poured out and spent.
At some point early on I would have been tempted to throw in the towel – “I’m done with you people!” – and find a wilderness where it could be just me and Jesus. But the blood of Jesus was poured out and the body of Jesus was spent…for people.
If we are going to seek and save the lost (which we are called to do) and if we are going to be the body of Christ (which we are called to be) then it might be good to go ahead and settle it in our hearts now – we will at times be betrayed, accused, and rejected by those we are trying to lead to Jesus and by those we are following Him with. It’s all part of a life poured out and spent. But there is abundant grace available to us in Christ so that we can love when hated, bless when cursed, do good when treated poorly. We are without excuse. So let us love one another fervently, even when we don’t deserve it. And let us love the lost with a heart filled with compassion even when they hate us for it. And let us be poured out and spent for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Great encouragement! As you said we are called to be the body, in everything we do.