Where no man has gone before.

2 Corinthians 5: 12 – 21


I love the old Star Trek show. The one with Captain Kirk not Jean luc. As a kid, I really dug the speech at the beginning of the show, “Space, the final frontier.......” ending with the epic statement,
“To boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Watching the show, I began to get the idea that I was the only one to go where no one else had. The crew of the Enterprise seemed to go to very familiar places interacting with alien races they had great knowledge of. At least most of the time.
Paul really lived up to that statement. He truly went ahead of everybody bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to people whom had never heard it.

14 Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat.
15 He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

God had set it up that way. Paul brought the word to the gentiles then, after walking in the steps that God had led him. Paul would keep in touch with the community with the “Sub space” communication of his day, snail mail. And, when he talked to the people, he did so not to brag of his own actions, but those of God.

12 ¶ We’re not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we’re on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are.
13 If I acted crazy, I did it for God; if I acted overly serious, I did it for you.


Now, because of Paul's leadership, we are able to experience that same pioneering spirit. When we bring the word to those whom have yet to hear it, like in Paul's time, we are breaking new ground in their lives.
That's kind of exciting. We can all be like Captain Kirk, without the casual sex and fighting, exploring the darkest regions of space bring the light of Jesus instead of “Star Fleet,”
bringing the message that Jesus paid for our sins once, and for all of us.

17 Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
18 All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.
19 God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing.
20 We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.
21 How? you say. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

Warp 5 Mr. Sulu. Set phasers to stun.