It feels like a totally and completely new you. But really it is the true you emerging from under all the... stuff... the world has thrown at you. Because you are IN the world, but not OF the world, right? That white stone with the name of Jesus written on it is your ticket into the Kingdom. Into experiencing the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God as we let Him live His own life of love in us, and through us, and as us. And here's the best part: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). So not only is it a return to what has always been true, but it is a shedding of all of that... stuff. Its the old man dying in a watery grave. And it means that we no longer have to drag around the corpse of that dead old man. Look at Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." The sin, or unbelief. or accepting that we are who the world says we are instead of who God says we are, has been taken away. The old things have passed away. And because of that--because JESUS did that on the cross--we can lay them aside. We can let them go. We can stop letting our mistakes, or our past, define us. We can let our new (TRUE) nature define us. Because while actions ARE important... what you do flows from what you believe. And behavior modification is a stop-gap at best. Right believing is what produces right living. Because if you're trying to live right so that you can stop being a sinner and start being a sait... man... good luck. But if you know that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, even when you mess up, that's when you can keep moving upward and God-ward. That's when you can learn from your mistakes and grow. Maturation is a process. Seeds are planted, but they take time to grow. And that's ok. That's the part of this never-ending life-long journey into the heart of the matter (which is the heart) that gives us peace. We don't have to have it figured out right this very second. We literally have all the time in the world. So don't get discouraged if you look in the mirror and you still see blemishes. Because the truth is Jesus washed you with the Word (which is love) and with His blood. He presented you to Himself WITHOUT spot, wrinkle, blemish, or any such thing. So even if you're still dealing with it (or even struggling with it), be of good cheer. Because it has already been dealt with. Taken care of. Its not who you are. So you don't HAVE to deal with it, or struggle with it. You can lay it aside. Let go and let God, right? He already did His part. He gave you His name--His character, His authority, His nature. He gave you His Spirit--the love receptor, the Spirit of truth that leads and guides us into all truth... the truth that God is love and He loves you. He gave you... Himself. You were created in His image, and then on the cross you were conformed into the image of His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's the true you. The hidden man of the heart, who is no longer hidden. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Revealed glory. His glory on display. His LOVE on display. Everything He is is everything you are. As He is, so are we in this world. Jesus. God in the flesh, love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body!

The interesting thing about the white stone that has our new (true) name written in it... is that the white stone was used as a ticket of admission to public events. So let me try to paint another picture of what we're talking about here. Water baptism. The act of the old man dying in a watery grave and the New Man rising to walk in newness of life. Our ticket into the Kingdom, if I can say it that way. Or, as it says in Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Its like how Jesus unlocked the prison cell... but we have to walk out of the prison. Because I see a lot of people who act like they are in bondage, even though they proclaim freedom. I'm trying to say... the truth HAS set you free and made you free... but unless you know and believe the truth you can't really EXPERIENCE the freedom that comes with it. I'm trying to say, nobody knows the name (which is Jesus, which is love) that is written on that white stone except for those that have received it. We've been given the ticket of admission, but we need to enter in. We've been given the mind of Christ, but we need to let the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. We've already been transformed, but we need to BE transformed into what we've already BEEN transformed into, by the renewing of our minds. And I think one of the best examples of this is in the book of Genesis. Now we're probably familiar with the story of Jacob. So let me try to cut to the quick of what I'm getting at here. Ok. In Genesis 32:28 we see this: "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." But even though God gives Jacob a new name, he is still identified as Jacob. Until Genesis 35:19-21, "And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's gave unto this day. And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar." And I've heard this passage preached as, "You have to give up the thing that's most important to you before you can step into your true destiny." But I don't agree with that at all. No father wants to strip his son of what he loves. What we really see here is that the name Rachel means an ewe. Which is a female lamb. What we really see here is that it took the death of the lamb for Jacob to receive his new (true) name. Its not about giving things up. Having things is ok. God made Abraham, for example, extremely rich. The problem is when things have you. Because God blessed Abraham so that he could be a blessing. God gave us His abundant life so that we could live out of that abundance. So that we could share what we have. So that we could have something to share! And if we spend our three t's (time, talent, treasure) always trying to get something... that's when we miss out on what we've got. And what we've got is a golden (or in this case, white) ticket. We've got everything we need. Because we've got the name... the character... the authority... the nature... of our Father. And when we know who He is, we know who we are. And when we know who we are, we can stop trying to be someone we're not. We can EMBRACE ourselves, and each other, and we can live that life we've been given by letting God live His own life of love in us, and through us, and as us!

Our new name is our true name. Our new nature is our new nature. Not the selfish, sinful beast nature but the love nature. That's who we really are. And what I want to say today is: "New" is really a return to the original. Its the God who is love putting things right through the death, burial, and resurrection that we refer to as "the cross." Because as we know, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). We know that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). What I'm trying to say is, before there was ever a sinner, there was a Savior. Before anything else, there was love. A sacrifical, life-giving love. That's what manifested on the cross when Jesus gave His life for us, and to us. But while it seemed new and radical, what was really happening was a return to the beginning. A return to how God had always intended things to be. And I get the question sometimes, "Why did God let man fall?" And the quick and easy answer is: Free choice. God warned Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But I believe God is too much of a gentleman to force His will on us. He, to a certain degree, lets us do what we're going to do. Because love doesn't demand His own way. And I say "to a certain degree" because on the cross God took matters into His own hands. We couldn't do anything to get ourselves out of the mess Adam had gotten us into when he stood as humanity's representative. We couldn't do anything about it. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. So God did something about it. He wrapped Himself in human flesh and died. The second death. The death OF death. So that we could live. And by "live" I don't mean have a better chance of living OUR lives. I mean we could finally break free of the bonds the held us back and we could live HIS abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love as HE lives it in us, and through us, and as us! He didn't just give us life. He gave us HIS life. He didn't just give us a new name, He gave us HIS name. His character. His authority. His nature. God was in Christ on the cross, reconciling us to Himself. Bringing us back to where we belonged. Putting things right. Remaking the world in His image. Let me say it like this: First we were made in His image. But we didn't know what HE looked like, so we didn't know what WE looked like. So we tried to be someone we're not. We tried to fit into someone's image of what we were supposed to be. But then, at the appointed time of the cross, God CONFORMED us to the image of His Son. He gave us His Son so that we might know who He is. And in knowing who He is... know who WE are. That's what the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of Truth--does; He testifies of our true identity by testifying of Jesus. Showing us who we are by showing us who He is. That's how it works. That's the master plan. God knew the only way to do it was to love the hell out of us. To show us unconditional love so that we would be able to love. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. He filled us up with His love--with Himself--so that His love would overflow out of us. That's what a having a love nature means... it means loving people comes naturally to you. Because you know that you ARE loved. Because you know that you are LOVE!

I want to kind of pick up on a thread that I started pulling in the last Rant series. And it comes from Revelation 2:17, "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that recieveth it." Our new name. Our TRUE name. And just so we know exactly what we're talking about here, "name" is number 3686 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "authority, character." Your name is not just the noise people make to get your attention. Your name is who you are. And let me just say this real quick: You are NOT what people call you. But you ARE what you answer to. You are what you believe you are--either what the world says, or what the Word of the Lord says. Which is why having an ear to hear is so important; with the world screaming at the top of its lungs, sometimes we need to be still in order to hear the still, small voice of the Lord deep inside us. The deep calling out to the deep, right? And, while we're setting the foundation and making sure we're clear about some things, JESUS is the One that overcame. He said so in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." We don't "overcome" by trying really hard to defeat things in our lives. We overcome when we realize that HE overcame, and He did it both for us and as us. We overcome when we understand that HE overcame... and as He is, so are we in this world. Being an "overcomer" is not about having the power to overcome. Its about knowing that Jesus finished the work... and now we can rest. We don't have to go to war because Jesus already won the war to end all wars. We have peace. We can rest. Our new TRUE identity not a warrior. It is a peacemaker. THAT'S how we'll be identified, and that's how we'll be identified as the Son(s) of God. And watch this: "Stone" in our verse in Revelation is 5586 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "a pebble (as worn smooth by handling), that is, (by implication of use as a counter or ballot) a verdict (of acquittal) or ticket (of admission)." The stone that was used to slay the giant, perhaps? Given to us so that we might know the victory has already been won. So that we might stop fighting. It is our ticket into the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God (if I can say it that way). Receiving that name--which is Jesus--and knowing that we can experience His life of love as He lives it in us, and through us, and as us. We don't try to live it. We simply let HIM live it and enjoy the ride. Its not about fighting our way uphill. Its about flowing in the river of living water. Its not about getting anything. Its about knowing what we have--knowing who we are--and giving what we've got. Its not about being someone we're not. Its about knowing, and embracing, and BEING who we are. Who we REALLY are. Knowing our new TRUE name. Knowing our authority as kings and priests. Knowing our character. Our nature. Not the beast nature. But the love nature!

Back to where we started. Colossians 3:17, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." To me this is a vitally important memory verse. To me, this is another way of saying that love is unconditional. Because the emphasis is on YOU and what YOU are doing. Not on whether anybody "deserves" anything. I quote Unforgiven all the time: "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." You don't love people because they deserve it, or because they've earned it. You love people because its in your heart to love people. Because its your nature. That's what "in the name of the Lord Jesus" means. Because His name is His nature. His name is YOUR name. Look at Revelation 2:17 really quick: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." I believe, just as God promised all of us ONE new heart, there is only ONE name written on that white stone. And that name is Jesus. That nature is love. The reason no man knows it except him who receives it is that we don't know our true identity until we receive HIM. Because He IS our true identity. As He is, so are we in this world. We are in Him because He is in us. And there is no separation to be found. So when Colossians 3:17 admonishes us to do whatsoever we do in love... I'm telling you that any time you DON'T act in love--which, by the way, is charity. Love in action--you're going against your true nature. We are not sinners trying to be saints. We are the righteousness of God in Christ. The trick is not trying really hard to figure out what Jesus would do and then trying really hard to do that thing. That's too much trying. Too much works and labor. The trick is knowing who you really are, and simply BEING who you really are. Knowing that you are loved. And because you are loved, you CAN love. Knowing that not only are you loved... but knowing that you are LOVE. Jesus is God in the flesh, love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. God is love. And as He is, so are we in this world. (Did I already say that? Well, you learn best through repetition, right Dad?) My point is, doing what you do in love is not the chore we make it out to be. We talk about "fake it til you make it." Or about loving people even when its hard. But I find, the more I love people... the easier it is. Especially when I'm so full of how much my heavenly Father loves me that I'm not even worried about what other people are doing. I don't take things personally, even if they are personal. I just love everybody. Its so much easier that way. Its so much easier to just let what's inside come out. But the only way you can do that is when we know and believe that its in there. Otherwise you'll do whatsoever you do in order to GET love. But love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. And we already have it. We don't need to do anything to get it. God already gave it to us. So, freely you have been given, freely give. Receive it and release it. Embrace who you really are. Let the love that's inside come out in everything you say and everything you do. Live Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love by letting Jesus live it in you, and through you, and as you!

Its all about doing whatever you do from a place of love. From a place of giving what you've got, instead of trying to be someone you're not in order to get something you think you haven't got. But lets keep going with our passage in Colossians chapter 3. Verse 16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." And here's what I see in this verse: The Word (which is Jesus, which is love) dwells in you when it fills you to overflowing and comes out of you. Already we've seen the idea of thanksgiving, or being thankful. And you can't be thankful for something you don't have. You can't be thankful for something you might get, someday, if you're good enough. I don't think many people thank their employers for their wages. Because they work for them, and earn them. But when someone GIVES you something, that's when "thank you" applies. That's when you simply receive and release the gift you've been given. And that second part--releasing it--is how you show that you're thankful for it. Because you're not hording it, or squandering it. You're sharing it. So, again, the love of God dwells in you when it comes out of you. Richly. Abundantly. Living (loving) without fear. Giving what you've got because its too good to keep to yourself. And then we kind of look at a few ways of HOW we release this Word. Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I've said this before--there are some people in my life that I can drop a memory verse on and it really makes an impact. That's where they're at and that's what hits them in the heart--right between the eyes. But most of the people I interact with on a daily basis would get a glazed over look in their eyes if I quoted good old King James at them. Which is where "singing with grace" comes in. Because I'm completely convinced--because I do it all the time--that you can talk about God all day long and you can do it without ever saying the words "God," "Jesus," "Bible," or anything even remotely religious. Because... well... let me say it this way: Almost every night Logan and I go through a question and answer routine. "Who is God?" Love. "What's His name?" Jesus. "Where does He live?" In your heart. Because if I don't teach my son anything else about anything, that's what I want Him to know. So I can talk about God all day long... by talking about love. And, even better, by putting love on display. By SHOWING people love. By loving them. Singing with grace in my heart. Singing my love song unto the God who is love, by loving the people that I come into contact with. It doesn't matter who they are, or WHERE they are (Spiritually speaking). It doesn't matter if they're righteous, or filthy, or unjust, or holy, or what. You can still love them. You can still let the Word dwell in you... by letting the Word come out of you. When the Word is made flesh, that's charity--love in action. And that's how people KNOW God, whether they realize that's who they're seeing or not. And that's the best way to help someone know Him. Not shoving Jesus down people's throats and watching them choke on Him... but by doing whatsoever you do in love. Because of love. For love. Guys, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Its all about love!

Continuing with our study of Colossians 3:14-17 brings us today to verse 15, "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." So you know how I always Rant about Christ's love controlling us? Because either we don't know (and believe) His love, so we do everything we can to try to get it... or we DO know (and believe) His love, so we do everything we can to give it away. Well, another way of saying the second part is "let the peace of God rule in your heart." Because that peaceful, easy feeling is knowing the truth. The truth that God is love and He loves you. The ultimate truth of the universe that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. And His hands... are your hands. As He is, so are we in this world. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body--is our true identity. That's who we really are. The inner man. The hidden man of the heart. And, like we saw yesterday, when you put on charity (love in action), or the whole armor of God, that's when you aren't afraid to love people. That's when the hidden man of the heart is put on display. When your heart is put on display. When the love of God IN you comes out THROUGH you. That's when the peace of God rules in your heart. When you stop trying to protect your heart by closing it down, and instead you guard your heart by keeping it open. Keeping it open to love. Because while I KNOW a heart can ache... I'm not fully convinced a heart can break. Its too strong. And, yes, sometimes it takes time for the ache to fade. But the love never dies. It can't. Love never fails. Because love endures. Love endures everything. Love is why we lay our lives down for our friends. Love is why we give everything we have and everything we are. We do it becuase its in our hearts to do it. It flows from that peace of God. From knowing the truth, and letting the truth set us free and make us free. And I like the idea of one body. One corporate body of Christ, right? Because if there's only one body, that means there is only one heart. Which is exactly what God promised in Ezekiel 11:19, "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh." He promised us ONE heart. HIS heart. The heart of God that beats with love in our chest. No longer is it an exterior set of rules written on stone. But it is, again, Jesus--GOD in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. Which, really, is HIS body. And that, friends, is something to be thankful for. Because I think one the biggest struggles we deal with is when we think we're all alone. "Nobody gets me." We feel isolated. Disconnected. We feel completely alone even in a crowded room sometimes. When the truth is, we are all intimately connected. We are called in one body. The body of Christ. Connected by the love of God. The light in me connected to the light in you. Even as the deep calls out to the deep. So we're NOT alone. Even if it feels like it. God promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. He took up abode within us. He moved in and He's never moving out. That settles the matter. And that gives us peace. That lets us be still and know that He is God. That lets us know and believe His love. Which lets us share His love. Which is the whole point of the whole thing.

Whatsoever you do... do it in love. Do it BECAUSE of love. That's what this Rant series is trying to say. But I want to get into the passage in Colossians chapter 3 that I quoted yesterday. So today let's do Colossians 3:14, "And above all these put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." And right off the bat that phrase "put on" connected me to Ephesians 6:11, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Now I don't want to get too heavy into the devil tonight. But let's just say he's the accuser of the brethren, right? That voice that tells you you're not good enough. The voice of the world, usually, but sometimes it even seems to come from deep inside. Even though we KNOW (and believe) that what is REALLY inside is the love of God. Which, in a Word (Jesus, love) is what the armor of God is. His love for us, and in us, and through us, is what protects us from the lie that the serpent wants to hiss in our ear. His love is that still, small voice that IS deep inside telling us the ultimate truth of the universe. That God is love and He loves you. That the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. That we ARE good enough. That God made us exactly the way He wanted to. God doesn't make mistakes. You are not an accident. You are not incomplete. You are not lacking anything. And when you know and believe that truth... that's when you can stop trying to be someone you're not in order to get something you think you haven't got. That's when you can stop trying to get... and start giving. That's when you can truly lay your life down for your friends. You can give everything you have and everything you are because you KNOW what you have and you KNOW who you are! And when you give someone everything you have and everything you are, without expecting anything in return... that's the bond of perfectness. That's when you truly experience the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God. The life of love that is the gift of God. You experience it when you share it. When you give it away. Not when you try to "protect" yourself by closing down and hiding behind walls. But when you have the armor on, so you can go right into the thick of things. You can meet people right where they're at. You can let them be who they are, and love them anyway. You don't have to be afraid. Which, by the way, connects right into my final memory verse for tonight: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18). Here's my question: What are we so afraid of? I think we're afraid of rejection. Of reaching out and having our hand slapped away. And that happens. Truly. But the point of reaching out is not whether or not someone else takes your hand. Its not about getting anything. Not a reaction. Not a thank you. Nothing. That's not the point. The point of reaching out is making what you have available. And, in that way, experiencing what you have. Love IS giving. And it doesn't matter what happens after you give. Give because you've GOT something to give. Give because you see a need. Because its in your heart to do it. Charity is love in action. Seeing a need and meeting it. And that connection, that bond, that's what's perfect!

I mentioned the other day that I did a Guerrilla Gospel video with this title, and I'm kind of stuck on it. And you know by now what I do when I'm stuck on something--I preach it until I'm empty on it. So let me quote the passage of Scripture first, then we'll get into it. "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and that Father by him" (Colossians 3:14-17). Ok. That's a lot. So over the next few days I want to look at each verse individually, but today I just want to hit on what I think is the overall theme. And by that I mean the overall theme of life. Because I was watching a movie earlier and one of the characters said, "Life is all about figuring out what you want... and then doing whatever you can to make it happen." And that struck me as a particularly sefish point of view. Now, granted, the character who said it was the bad guy, but I feel like that's how a lot of people look at life. The pursuit of happiness, right? Which, by the way, comes from the Constitution, not the Bible. Kind of like how "cleanliness is next to Godliness" is not in the Bible. But I digress. The point is, happiness is not something we GET. Happiness is what happens when we GIVE what we've got. Whatsoever you do in word or in deed, do it in the name of the Lord. Which is Jesus. Which is love. The nature of Lord. Which is the nature of love. The love nature. Do whatever you do because its in your heart to do it. And, again, that doesn't mean because you WANT something. When Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart," I don't think that's a formula to getting what you want. I think that's the secret to understanding what you really want. Which is love. So when you delight yourself in the God who IS love, what else could you experience BUT love? He IS the desire of you heart, and delighting yourself in Him is how you receive the gift (of Himself) that He has already given you. Its not about getting anything. Its about knowing what you've got. Sharing what you've got. Giving everything you have and everything you are, just as Jesus did when He laid His life down for His friends on the cross. And according to Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He did what He did--giving Himself for us, and to us--simply because He loved us. That's His nature. That's why He did what He did. And that's why we ought to do whatsoever it is that we are going to do. Do it because its in your heart to do it. Do it because the love inside is bursting at the seams to get it. Trust your gut. Follow your heart. Stop trying to GET, and simply receive and release from the Lord. Love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. So when you know that you ARE loved, that's when you CAN love. That's when you stop pursuing happiness, and start living it!

I want to change focus a little bit tonight. Which, granted, is a little bit strange to do at the end of a Rant series. But this is what's on my heart today: Sometimes you need to just let it be. Or, as the movie Frozen taught us, let it go. Because sometimes you just make things worse by trying to hang on too tightly. I've been Ranting about this a lot this year, I feel like, but sometimes less is more. It never does any good to overwhelm someone. I recently had someone tell me that I did that to them. "Diarrhea of the mouth" was the term that they used. To describe me talking them to death in order to try to help them. And, ironically, they said they understood why I did it because they found themselves currently doing it. But it didn't help when I did it, and it probably isn't helping now when they're doing it. Because its one thing to talk things out. But its something else to talk things to death. And, like I told them, the funny thing is that I don't even LIKE to talk. I like to be quiet. I'm a writer, I'll grant you that, but I'm not chatty. So if I was--and I can admit it, I really was--talking someone to death its only because I didn't know what else to do. So I went overboard trying to "fix" the problem. And I had zero success. So this is one of those times where a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. I can tell you from experience: too much is too much. Let me say it like this: If you try to shove Jesus down someone's throat... they WILL choke on Him. That's why people run FROM God instead of running TO God. Because we make Him overwhelming. We make Him too hard, or too scary... or too much. When what we should be doing is following Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." And did you catch that? God is exalted not when we try really hard to exalt Him, but when we be still and know Him. Not when we try, try, try. But when we BE. When we KNOW. Guys. Some things can't be fixed. Let it be. Let it go. And some things can't be fixed by YOU. The harder you try, the more frustrated you're going to get. The more you're going to torture yourself. To quote Princess Leia from Star Wars, "The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers." The more we try to control things, the less control we actually have. And if you're trying to control someone else... that's not love. Christ's love controls us, but we don't use it to control each other. So let me try to wrap this up with one of my favorite sayings: Know when to say when. And my litmus test on that is: Do your best and forget the rest. Love is giving everything you have and everything you are. Laying your life down for your friends (and realizing that you only have friends... and people who don't know they're your friends. Yet). But once you've given it everything you've got... its either enough, or its not. And either way you've done what you can do. So stop banging your head against the wall. Stop doing the same thing while expecting different results. If it doesn't work it doesn't work. Either try something different... or let it go. Let go and let God, right? Some things aren't meant to be. Or are meant to be for a season. Then something else happens. Don't try to force a square peg into a round hole. Don't wear people out by overwhelming them. Give it everything you've got, then let it be.