This is the best, most simple way I can say what I'm trying to say: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). The journey is not from bad... to good. Good and evil are on the same tree. The tree of death. The journey is from death... to life! And it's a journey that Jesus already made both for us and as us. When He was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew all men into Himself. Drew us out of Adam. So that, from that point onward, whatever happened to Jesus happened to us. When He died, we died. That was the second death. The death OF death. The first death was when Adam ate of the tree of death. The second death was the cross. And the second death was necessary so that we might be able to walk in newness of life. So that we might experience the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurection Life of God--which is the gift of God, which is the love of God! And just keep this in your brain while we talk about the shift from death to life--we are "changed" from glory to glory. We start at glory. Death may be where we were, for a time, but it's not where we started. It was never our natural habitat, if I can say it like that. We may have accepted it, even made peace with it... settled for it... but that's never what our heavenly Father wanted for us. That's why, at the appointed time, Jesus defeated death. 1 Corinthians 15:26 says, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." But if you read it in the Literal Standard version it says, "The last enemy is done away with--death." Did you catch that? Past tense. Death IS done away with. That was a big part of what the cross was. And can I just sneak this in here? If hell is the place of the dead, and death is done away with, then it makes perfect sense that both death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. God, of course, being that consuming fire. Everything was swallowed up in Him. The Messianic rebirth of the world. The fire that burned, and consumed everything but itself. Himself. Love-self. What I'm trying to say is that we worry about a lot of things that we don't need to worry about. We focus on a lot of things that, quite frankly, don't matter. What we have is this life. What we have is right now. And we need to enjoy what we have--the life of God--by living! By giving what we've got. Which we do by knowing what we've got. Filling ourselves to overflowing with what God has filled us with. The difference between death and life, in a Word, is love. No love... no life. Know love... know life! And I'm telling you, it's a journey. It's a process. It's a knowledge that passes knowledge. Letting God love you and loving Him back by loving people. That's how we experience this life. That's how we live. That's how we accept the transformation, or the conformation, that took place on the cross. That's how we look in the mirror and see who we really are--by seeing who Jesus really is... in us. In us, and through us, and as us. Love is the bridge that gets us from where we were... to where God has always wanted us to be. And it was God who made that bridge. That Way of Grace. All we have to do is respond to what He did with the Walk of Faith. Let His Word (which is Jesus, which is love) be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. He has made the way straight--the way that leads to life. All we need to do is walk. Or, really, let HIM walk in our feet. All we need to do is be still and know that HE is God. Do what we do from a posture of rest. Do what we do heartily--to the best of our ability, because it is in our heart to do it!

The journey from glory... to glory is one that doesn't make "natural" sense. It is a journey of self-discovery as we discover ouraelves in Jesus. As we discover Jesus in ourselves. Look at Ephesians 3:19, "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, tha ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." A knowledge that passes knowledge. Being filled with the fulness. From glory to glory. This is the mindset we need to develope. Stop thinking you have to change from "bad" to "good." Jesus did not come to make "bad" people "good." He came to make dead people alive. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He came to wake us from sleep. To show us who we are--by showing us who HE is. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. So let's stop coming at this from a place of "I'm not who I need to be, but maybe, someday, if I try hard enough, I can be good enough." You ARE who you need to be. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are exactly who you need to be, and you always have been. Created in the image and likeness of God. Starting at glory. Then, on the cross, conformed to the image of God's only begotten Son. Ending at glory. Seeing the glory of God in the mirror and being transformed into that same image. What you see is what you be. WHO you see (Jesus, love) is WHO you be. The journey is not changing from something you're not into something you are supposed to be. The journey is discovering who you've always been. It's a maturation process. It's "becoming" who you are by learning who you are. By learning who Jesus is. This all happens by knowing the love of Christ. Because, guys, that's who we are. We are loved, and that means we are love. That means we CAN love. We can be who we are by letting what's inside come out. By knowing and believing that it's in there. Seeing it in the mirror. And, listen, if you can't give what you don't have, and you can only give what you do have, that means that any time you love, you are proving (to yourself) that you are loved. We love because God first loved us. Faith works by love because love is all about faith. Knowing and believing. Receiving and releasing. Not thinking less of ourselves--that's not being humble--but simply thinking of ourselves less. Thinking of others. Seeing a need and meeting it. The difference between death and life... is love. No love, no life. Know love, know life! If you want to experience life--the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God--you have to experience love. And love is giving. We receive it... so that we can release it. We are blessed... so that we can be a blessing. The journey isn't from "bad" to "good." It is from death to life. It is from knowledge (head knowlege) to knowlege (heart knowledge). It is from glory... to glory. We start at glory. We start at the end. And that's why it's eternal. God's love is never-ending. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. So when we're loving Him back by loving each other, nothing has to separate us from each other either! We can get along. We can build, and have relationships. We can live... and we can love!

Where we get to is directly affectd by where we come from. Now, having said that, it's the journey not the destination. This never-ending life long journey into the heart of the matter... is a journey of self discovery. By which I mean discovering who we are by discovering who Jesus is. He is our identity. God in the flesh, love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. And the best part about this journey--about the starting place being so important--is that when we look into the mirror with an open, unveiled face, we are changed into the glory of God that we see (in the mirror, in ourselves, and in each other) FROM glory TO glory! We start at glory! And, listen, I understand that may seem like nonsense when you look around at your current situation and the song lyric "If you're going through hell... keep on going" seems to apply. I understand that it doesn't always look like, or feel like, glory. Hebrews 2:8-9 tells us that, "Thou has put all things in subjection under his feet. Fo in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Everything is under our feet. Because everything is under HIS feet. And He walks in our feet. Our feet ARE His feet. When you don't see it that way... focus on what you do see. We see Jesus. He is the One who carries us through. He is the one that brings us from glory to glory. Guys. Honestly. Truly. We start at glory. It doesn't have to look like it, or feel like it. We are who we were created to be. The "trick" is BEING who we are by knowing and believing that we are who God says we are. Knowing the truth and letting the truth set us free and make us free. See, we're not trying to go FROM bad TO good. Good and evil were on the same tree. The tree of death. We don't need to turn over a new leaf. We need to understand that Jesus cursed that fig tree because it couldn't bear any fruit. And we need to get on a whole new tree. The only tree left when we get to Revelation. The Tree of Life. The fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, right? The beginning and the end. It starts with Him and it ends with Him. In the beginning we were created in the image and likeness of God. In the "end," the cross, we were conformed to the image of God's only begotten Son. From glory... to glory. So don't worry about where you are right now. God allows u-turns. In fact, I believe He encourages them. So don't think you can't start where you're at. Wherever you are, that's where the glory is. You are the spout where the glory comes out. This "transformation" is really just a maturation. The more you understand your (HIS in you) glory... the more you can experience that glory by letting what's inside come out. That's the best way to experience anything. If you want to experience forgivness... forgive someone. If you want to experience love... love someone. Be the change you want to see in the world. Be who you are--who you really are, which is who you are in Christ, which is who Christ is in you--by letting what's inside come out!

There are a couple of verses in the Bible that speak of going FROM something TO something. And generally it's the same thing at the beginning and the end. Which makes sense when you consider the glorious truth that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. HE is the beginning and the end. LOVE is the beginning and the end. So I want to start with one of my favorite Bible verses. And, yes, I know that almost every time I quote a memory verse I talk about how it is one of my favorites. But this is one of my very most favorite favorites. 2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." There's a lot there, so before we even get into something like Colossians 3:19--knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge--I really want to dig into this idea of being changed INTO glory... FROM glory... TO glory! And as we see in our verse, it comes from looking in the mirror and beholding the glory that is inside us. The glory of God that is inside us. Looking with an open face. Seeing things clearly because the light of the world is shining. Read it in the New Living Translation. "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And th Lord--whois the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." See and reflect. If you see it... you be it. What you see is what you be. That's why it's so important that you look in the right place. That's why it's so important that you look to the Rock from which you were hewn. When He appears (to you, and in you, and through you, and as you) and you see Him as He is... that's when you can be YOU as you are. You can be you as HE is in you. As He is, so are we in this world. So we don't need to "change" in the sense of becoming something we're not. We're being "changed" into glory... from glory... to glory. It's all glory. It's a becoming as we begin to understand what we have always been. Made in the image and likeness of God in the beginning and then conformed into the image of His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased on the cross. Transformed by the renewing of our mind. By receiving and releasing the love of God. By letting Him love us and then loving Him back by loving the people we come into contact with. That's what's glorious--loving people with the love we have been loved with. What else could the glory of God--the God who is love--be? Where us could the Spirit lead us? What else could the heart be concerned with? Keep and guard your heart, for out of it flows the issue (love) of life. When the veil of the law is taken away you can see the grace, and the mercy, and the love, of God. You can experience it by giving it away. You can see HIM as He is and see YOURSELF as He is IN YOU. The glory that is already there can begin to be revealed. It starts with glory. It starts with God. We love because He first loved us. You can't give what you don't have and you can only give what you do have. Receiving and releasing God's love is the key, or the secret, to life. Not trying to be someone you're not, but being who you really are by embracing who you really are. By letting Jesus be who He really is in you, and through you, and as you. Letting the light (the glory) inside shine out. Seeing Jesus and BEING Jesus. See and reflect. Or see and be. Let what's inside come out by knowing and believing it's in there. By SEEING it in there. And by "becoming" what we see (what we've always been) from glory to glory!

Garbage in, garbage out. What you fill yourself with is what will overflow out of you. What you see... is what you be. So what you look at--or set your affection on--is vitally important. If you surround yourself and fill yourself with God-things... you'll be so saturated with it that you won't have room for anything else. Whether that means consistantly reading the Bible, listen to worship music or sermons--and, listen, I'm not being judgmental here or anything like that. I'm simply telling you that what you fill yourself with is what you experience. The more God you purposefully put into your life... the better. Look at 2 Peter 1:5-7, "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." Add things to your life that will improve your life. But always with the understand that we can't add anything that hasnt' already been given to us. This life is not about getting something you haven't got--or something you think you haven't got. This life is about experiencing that gift of God that you've already been given. For God so loved the world He gave. He gave us everything we would ever need when He gave us His only begotten Son. He gave us faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, and charity. He gave us faith, hope, and love. He gave us mercy and grace. He gave us everything... because He gave us Himself. So stop looking at yourself as someone who lacks something. Add what has been given to you. Receive it and release it. Look to the Rock from which you where hewn. Look IN the mirror instead of AT the mirror. See the Christ that is IN you. See that light that is inside you, and let that light shine! Because, let's be real, when you add all of those good (GOD) things... you are filling yourself up... to overflowing. Those things inside you WILL come out. They have to. Whatever you believe is inside comes out. It's too big not to. Whenever you try to keep things bottled up inside they just end up exploding anyway. So instead of that, we have to find healthy, productive ways to let what's inside come out. And the best way to do that is to know what's REALLY inside. And the best way to do that is to purposefully fill yourself. Add the good things. Focus on them. Starve the rest. Don't give your three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) to anything that, quite frankly, doesn't matter. Look at any and every situation and, instead of judging it by appearance, judge it righteously. Instead of being angry about it, look at how you could improve it. Don't see yourself as a victim, see yourself as just the right person to inject love (God) into the situation. Stop seeing problems, and start seeing opportunites for solutions. It's all about your mindset. It's all about how you react to whatever it is that happens. It's all about knowing and believing--receiving and releasing--the love of God. So see the way God loves you--I think that's where I'm going with my next Rant series. See the way you are loved, and in that way learn how to love. Look and live. Garbage in, garbage out. Yes. But in the same manner, on the other side of the coin, love in... love out. Breathe it in and breathe it out. Let God love you and love Him back by loving people. See Him as He is and see yourself IN Him as YOU really are. You're a chip off the old block, so look to the Rock from which you were hewn. See HIM... and you will BE HIm, by letting HIm be Himself in you, and through you, and as you!

Keep your eyes on the prize. Those are words to live by. Very rarely do great things happen by accident. You have to be purposeful. You have to work for what you want. And I'm not talking about salvation in the sense of how we know works and labor don't work in the Spiritual sense. I'm talking about effort. Love is maximum effort. Giving everything you have and everything you are. Laying your life down for your friends. I'm talking about working in the sense of buildling. Seeing what you want--having a goal--and working towards it. And I'm not talking about the grass being greener on the other side, either. Because as we look, and see, and walk... we need to be grateful for where we are. For what we have. I think a big part of what messes us up a lot of the time is that we don't give credit to how far we've come. We're always looking ahead. There has to be a balance where you can see how far you've come, enjoy where you are, and work towards where you're going. And, really, it comes down to seeing love. Looking at things cross-eyed (through the lens of the finished work of the cross). If you can see love everywhere you look... you will be able to not only survive, but thrive, no matter where you are. You'll be able to enjoy the gift of God--which is eternal life--that you've been given. You'll be able to stop trying to be someone you're not and stop trying to get something you think you haven't got. When you see it (Him, Jesus, love) you will be it. When you see where you want to go, you'll be able to get there. And, listen, good things take time. I know we have a snapshot mentality where we think what's happening right now is how things have always been and will always be. I know we have a microwave mentality where we want it hot and ready right now. Life is a journey. It has ups and downs. Ebbs and flows. But it's all in God's timing. Let me say it like this: It all works out in the end. If it hasn't worked out yet, it isn't the end yet. So keep the faith. Look to the Rock from which you were hewn and then stand on that Rock! Stand on love and you cannot be shaken. When Jesus is holding you up--and He is ALWAYS holding you up--nothing can drag you down. Set aside the weight and the sin (unbelief) that so easily besets you. If you know something is a trigger for you, or is likey to try to trip you up, don't even mess with it. You don't have to fight every battle. In fact, the only fight we should be fighting is the good fight of faith. Which is laying hold of eternal life. Receiving and releasing the gift we've been given. So look at where you've been. But don't let it hold you back. Look at where you are, but don't get stuck there. Be content but not satisfied. And look at where you're going. Be purposeful. Don't do things just to do them. Make a plan. Have goals. We only have so much time on this earth. We shouldn't squander it, or waste it. But let me say this: If you enjoy the time you "waste" are you really wasting it? There are more ways to be productive than working yourself to death. Sometimes just being still and knowing HE is God is the most productive you can be. Looking at Him. His glory. His beauty. His mercy. His grace. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord because he knew where to look. His focus was in the right place. So, like I keep saying (and will keep saying) SET your affection on things above. Keep your eyes on the prize. Look... and live! What you see is what you be. When you see Jesus... you be who you really are. Who you are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in you!

What you see is what you be. It's really that simple. What you magnify in your life is what will manifest in your life. What you give your three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) to is what has importance and prominance in your life. What you feed is what will grow. That's why it's so important to SET your affection. To do things purposefully. To look to the Rock from which you were hewn. To look at the serpent on the pole (Jesus on the cross) instead of the snakes slithering around your ankles. 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." This is one of my absolute favorite memory verses. Because it puts it out there--we are Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. That's a done deal. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). That was the cross. In the beginning we were created in the image and likeness of God. But it was dark out. Hard to see. So God said, "Let there be light." He gave us His only begotten Son. Conformed us the image we had already been created in. And that's important because until you know who you are, it's almost impossible to be who you are. Until you can see it... you can't really be it. Moses told the people, "Look and live!" That's the key to this whole thing. When you see Jesus appear (to you, and in you, and through you, and as you) you see yourself as you truly are. Because you see HIM as He truly is. And as He is, so are we in this world. When God looks at you He sees Jesus, and when He looks at Jesus He sees you. There is no difference and no separation. The problem is when we don't know HIM. That's when we look for love in all the wrong places. That's when we focus on the serpents at our heels and get caught up in all the trials and tribulations, all the problems (most of them self-created) that we (think we) have to deal with. Life is not as hard or as complicated as we oftentimes make it out to be. Sometimes (all the time) we should just be still and know that HE is God. Let God do what HE wants to do (again) in us, and through us, and as us. Do whatever we do from a posture of rest. And understand that rest is not inactivity, it is Holy Spirit directed activity. Rest is not doing nothing, rest is doing whatsoever you do heartily--to the best of your ability, because it's in your heart to do it. So keep your focus on the things that matter. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. Don't let your vision be pulled away from what's really important. And if you do... set your sights again. Be purposeful. Major on the majors and minor on the minors. Make sure you're giving your three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) to what really matters. Make sure you're spending your resources and not wasting them. Time is one of the most precious things you have. People spell love "T-I-M-E." So make sure when you're looking... you're seeing. Make sure you're looking in the right place. Looking at the right thing. Tomorrow we're really going to hit it hard about where and what that right place and thing is. Spoiler alert: It's looking in the mirror. With an open face. Seeing the glory of God and being changed into that image from glory to glory. Seeing what's really inside and letting it out by filling yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with!

Once upon a time the people of Israel were "wandering" in the wilderness. Actually, God was leading them step by step in order to bring them fully and completely out of slavery and bondage, and teach them how to live. But I digress. While they were on this camping trip, there came a point where they got into some trouble. Well, over and over again they got themselves into trouble. But in this particular instance there were snakes involved. Numbers 21:4-8, "And they journeyed from mout Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. ANd the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." There's a lot there. I don't have the time or space today to get into all of it. I want to focus on the idea of "Look and live." I want us to see that the serpent on the pole is a type and shadow of Jesus. That we spend so much time worrying about the snakes nipping at our heels, when our focus should be on the cross. The finished work. Remember in Hebrews? All things are under our feet--because all things are under HIS feet, we are overcomers because He has overcome--but we don't always see it that way. But we see Jesus. That's the key. What you see is what you be. Look to the Rock from which you were hewn. Look up at the serpent on the pole, not down at the snakes biting you. You don't have to fight every battle. The only fight left (since Jesus won the war to end all wars on the cross) is the good fight of faith. Laying hold of eternal life. Receiving the gift that we've been given. Receiving it... and releasing it. Seeing who we really are--which is who we are in Christ--and BEING who we really are by letting Him be Himself in us, and through us, and as us. What you see is what you be. I'm going to keep on saying it. So where you look is vitally important. Listen... you are not what people call you, but you are what you answer to. Where you find yourself, your identity, is so important. And here's the great part--you are dead and your life is hid with God in Christ Jesus. HE is our true identity! Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. When you look inside, you see Jesus. You see your true self. And when He appears (again, to you, and in you, and through you, and as you) that's when YOU appear. The "new" (TRUE) you. That's when you can stop trying to be someone you're not and you can be who you really are. That's when you can stop fighting every battle and you can truly begin to live. Look... and live. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Keep your focus on Spiritual things--mercy, forgiveness, grace... love--and you won't have to worry about earthly things. When you have things in Divine Order, they work themselves out. So be purposeful in your life. SET your affection. KEEP your focus. Garbage in... garbage out. Fill yourself with the goodness that is the love of God. See it... be it. Look... and live!

What you see is what you be. That's something fundamental that we need to understand. What you magnify in your life is what will manifest in your life. 1 John 3:2 tells us, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." We ARE like Him, but in seeing Him... we see ourselves, understand ourselves, and can BE ourselves. So the key is to look. And to look at the right thing. Isaiah 51:1 is my key verse for this Rant series. "Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged." If you're following after righteousness... you need to look at the righteous One. To understand what righteousness is. If you seek the Lord... you have to look at the Lord. If you want to be a chip off the old block, you need to know where you came from. We know what we are--we are the Son(s) of God. But we don't necessarily know what that means all the time. We haven't necessarily come into the fullness of that revelation. It's the same concept that we see in Hebrews 2:8-9, "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Everything is under His feet, which means everything is under our feet. We HAVE overcome because HE has overcomer. That's what makes us overcomers. Not the abiltity to (maybe) overcome, but the fact that we already have. So even though we don't always see ourselves in that way... even though we don't always see things under our feet... we see Jesus. And He is all we need to see. He is the rock that we were hewn from. He is the pattern Son. He is the truth (and the way, and the life). We look to Him and we see what needs to be seen. We look to Him and we see our true selves. And guess what guys, we look to Him by looking in the mirror. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 3:18). What you see is what you be. So it's vitally important what you look at. You've probably heard the phrase, "Garbage in, garbage out." What you fill yourself with is what will come out of you. It has to. You can't give what you don't have and you can only give what you do have. Whatever you fill yourself with... that's what you have to give. So look to the Rock. Look in the mirror with an open face (or an open mind). Forget about the lies the world has told you and embrace the ultimate truth of the universe--that God is love and He loves you. That you are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Embrace the truth of your true identity. And be changed--from GLORY to glory--by seeing... Him. In you. If you're looking in the mirror you're seeing what you really look like. Who you really are. And, just as when God looks at He sees Jesus, and when God looks at Jesus He sees you, in the same way when YOU look at you, you can see Jesus. When you look at the people you come into contact with you can see Jesus. You don't have to judge by appearance. You can look properly--cross-eyed, through the lens of the finished work of the cross--and you can see people (and places, and things) for what they really are!

Standing fast IN faith. Standing fast ON love. I can't stress enough how interconnected these two things are. Look at Galatians 5:6, "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avilath any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." Think about that. It's not anything external. It's faith working by love. It's what inside that matters. When you're standing fast--being still and knowing that HE is God, knowing that love is the only safe and secure foundation to build on--you're not running around like a chicken with its head cut off. When you know what you've got, you don't have to try to get what you think you haven't got. I feel like I talk about this all the time: The biggest problem I think we have, as humans, is that we're always trying to be someone we're not in order to get something we think we haven't got. We miss out on experiencing what we have by simply being who we are. God made you... you. And He did it on purpose. You are who you're supposed to be. And, listen, I'm not saying that we have all come to the end of the maturation process. It's a never-ending life. And the never-ending life is a never-ending journey into the heart of the matter. Which is the heart. It's not about "changing" into someone you're not. It's about discovering who you really are. Which is NOT who the world says you are, but IS who you are in Christ! Which is who Christ is in you. That's your true identity. You are the righteousness of God in Christ. Mystery solved. But it takes time to fully (or even partially) understand what that means. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). We already are the Son(s) of God. But the trick is knowing and believing and understanding what that means. And the only way to know and believe and understand what that means... is to see Him as He is. As He appears to us. Learning about ourselves by learning about Jesus. Letting Him be HIMSELF in us, and through us, and as us. Being still... and knowing that He is God. Standing fast on the Rock and not allowing anything to shake us. Letting Jesus (love) hold us up when everything else is trying to drag us and knock us down. Believing that we are who God says we are. Letting our faith work by love. Having faith in God. Which means having faith in love. Because God IS love. So what we need to understand... is that it's not about what we do. It's about who we are. What you do flows from what you believe. You don't do in order to be. You do BECAUSE you be. When you start to understand who you are (in Christ, which is who Christ is in you) you can stop trying to be someone you're not. You can embrace yourself... and others. You can love yourself... and others. Self-love is important. I'm telling you, it's all about love. Even faith works by love. Love is the creative power of the universe. Love is WHY God created the universe. The God who is love wanted to express Himself. So He created you and me. And then He loved you and me. So that we might know love. So that we might be able to experience love. So that we might be able to love Him back by loving each other. When you stand fast... I'm telling you... don't make a stand on things that don't really matter. Stand fast on love. Let love be your guide. Whatsoever you do, do it heartily. Do it to the best of your ability, because it's in your heart to do it!