6. So we always have confidence. We know that while we live in this body, we are away from the Lord.
7. We live by what we believe will happen, not by what we can see.
8. So I say that we have confidence. And we really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord.
9. Our only goal is to always please the Lord, whether we are living here in this body or there with him.
10. We must all stand before Christ to be judged. Everyone will get what they should. They will be paid for whatever they did—good or bad—when they lived in this earthly body.
11. We know what it means to fear the Lord, so we try to help people accept the truth. God knows what we really are, and I hope that in your hearts you know us too.
12. We are not trying to prove ourselves to you again. But we are telling you about ourselves. We are giving you reasons to be proud of us. Then you will have an answer for those who are proud about what can be seen. They don’t care about what is in a person’s heart.
13. If we are crazy, it is for God. If we have our right mind, it is for you.
14. The love of Christ controls us, because we know that one person died for everyone. So all have died.
15. He died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him.
16. From this time on we don’t think of anyone as the world thinks of people. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we don’t think that way now.
17. When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new!
18. All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him.