Beyond Gratefulness

Holy Stinking Cool Batman!! So I've always heard in church and books and even in the bible something to the effect of "forgive other people because Jesus forgave you" or "love other people because Jesus loved you first" and that's totally true and I agree but God showed me it's so much deeper than that!!! There's more to this than simply "Jesus did it for me so I should do it for others."
While that is all good, it's makes me feel better to know that the purpose for this stuff is so much deeper than gratefulness. You see, Christ was rejected and suffered immensely and his disciples shared in the fruits of his passion. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to share in his sufferings. That doesn't so appealing at face value.
Christ bore the sins of all and it is clear that the only atonement is through the blood of JESUS only. But since he bore the sins of the entire world, as disciples we are called to share in bearing those sins, in experiencing the rejection that Jesus experienced and it's pretty safe to assume that any man would break down under such pressure unless he had the unfailing support of the one who took the wrap for humanity (that would be Jesus).
Paul writes in Galations "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Bonhoeffer says "The passion of Christ strengthens [the disciple] to overcome the sins of others by forgiving them." True, we are to help deal with their outward situations and gifts or lack thereof, but also their literal sin. Mad rad!!!
Hells yeah by following Jesus we are forgiven; we are free to bear the sins of others by the power of Christ (not by our own power mind you). As a true disciple of Jesus, we are free to be real with people, to draw alongside of them and bear the weight of their burden with them (WHETHER THEY KNOW JESUS OR NOT). What an amazing weapon against the world's sorrow we've been given! We don't forgive or love merely because Jesus did so to us first. We do so because Jesus has freed us and empowered his with His power to help lift the weak out of the pit in his name. We are his warriors, by serving Jesus we are serving to the fight the evils that plague our world. And how amazing is it that we can come alongside those who don't know Him in their time of need and in His power and name we can bear their weight. And if we can do so with God's children who choose not to acknowledge God, how much more so can we pull alongside a fellow disciple who may have lost his way as we all tend to do.
What a sicka rad job to have!!! Jesus's command to his disciples was to love others... but not just by sending them flowers or buying them dinner. We have the power to love by descending to their depths alongside them, and we are able to do so because we have Christ's power... we are his ambassadors to the broken. SO SWEEEEEET!