9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
9 Wherefore we labour,
9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
9 But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:9
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:9-15
(Read 2 Corinthians 5:9-15)
The apostle quickens himself and others to acts of duty. Well-grounded hopes of heaven will not encourage sloth and sinful security. Let all consider the judgment to come, which is called, The terror of the Lord. Knowing what terrible vengeance the Lord would execute upon the workers of iniquity, the apostle and his brethren used every argument and persuasion, to lead men to believe in the Lord Jesus, and to act as his disciples. Their zeal and diligence were for the glory of God and the good of the church. Christ's love to us will have a like effect upon us, if duly considered and rightly judged. All were lost and undone, dead and ruined, slaves to sin, having no power to deliver themselves, and must have remained thus miserable for ever, if Christ had not died. We should not make ourselves, but Christ, the end of our living and actions. A Christian's life should be devoted to Christ. Alas, how many show the worthlessness of their professed faith and love, by living to themselves and to the world!