A More Excellent Way part 5
What you sow is what you reap. What you do is what you get. (And, listen, I believe when the Bible talks about reaping and sowing it's talking about Jesus who sowed Himself on the cross and reaped a glorious harvest, but there's also an individual aspect of it.) Here's what I'm trying to say: If all you care about is getting and getting and getting then you will miss out on the joy of truly living. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. And to love... is to give. This life is not about what you can get. It's about what you do with what you already have. And what we already have... is everything. We have been blessed with ALL Spiritual blessings. We have been given ALL things that pertain to life and godliness. We have it all, because we have Jesus, and He is the all-in-all. So instead of approaching life from a place a lack, where we feel empty and will do anything to try and fill that God-shaped, love-shaped hole inside of us, we need to understand that on the cross that hole was filled when we were filled with the Holy Spirit! Jesus came that we might have life and have it more ABUNDANTLY. He came to show us that there is a more excellent way, and He came to show us that He IS that Way, the Truth, and the Life. Look at what Jesus said in Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Jesus didn't come for what He could GET. He came for what He could GIVE. And what He could give... was Himself. He gave His life for us and He gave His life to us. He did it all so we could get it all. And that all that He did was the cross. And the all that we got was Him. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body--is what we have. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body--is who we are! So now, instead of working in order to get, get, get, we can start resting and enjoy what we have, have, have! And the best way to enjoy something is to share it. Things are real when they are shared. We are blessed... to be a blessing. We are loved (in large part) so that we can love. And I'm not saying you can't enjoy God's love for you without sharing it. To some degree I think you can. Sometimes I like to just dwell in His love. To just enjoy that one-on-one relationship between me and my Daddy. But as good as that is... there's a more excellent way. Because people are desperate for that feeling of love and acceptance. And, as my pastor always says, "If you know it, throw it." We have whate everybody wants. And when we share it we experience it to an even greater degree. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. It starts with receiving, but it doesn't end there. In fact, it doesn't END at all. It just goes and goes and grows and grows. Love never fails. It never fades. It never stops. So when you sow love (because you have received love), that's when you reap it to an even greater degree. And that's excellent!