Anyway part 1
Have you heard the quote, "Don't cross oceans for people who wouldn't cross a puddle for you"? I see stuff like this all the time. And before I even get to my point I want to say: I get it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on ME, right? When you get burned all you want to do is stay away from the fire. Closing down your heart seems like a good way to protect it, or guard it. But... there is a way that SEEMS right to a man. And the end of that way is death. Closing down your heart doesn't guard it. Keeping your heart open--open to love--is how you guard your heart. And it's important to guard your heart because the issues (issue, love) flows out of it. So when someone says, "Don't do scratch someone's back unless they'll scratch yours," I say DO IT ANYWAY. Because love isn't about getting. It's about sharing what you've got. Love is giving. Look at 2 Corinthians 12:15 in the NLT, "I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me." That's it. That's all I really want to say. But I'm going to say it over and over for the next few days, and try to say it in different ways, so that we can comprehend this facet of love. Love doesn't do in order to. Love does because. We don't do in order to be. We do because we be. And look at Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." God's Word--which is Jesus, which is Love--always accomplishes that which He pleases. (And remember, it's our Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. And remember, His Word has already accomplished this. He gave us the Kingdom when He gave us the King.) God's Word doesn't just accomplish... it prospers! Which means WE prosper. Because His Word was spoken for us, and to us. He wrote His laws--the perfect law of liberty, freedom from sin and death and freedom to live and love--in our hearts. He gave us everything we could ever need. So that we don't have to worry about (or be afraid of) how other people will respond. We don't have to judge whether or not someone is worthy of being loved. It doesn't matter if they scratch our backs. If they're itchy... help them out. Meet a need, and don't worry about what comes next. Perfect love casts out fear. We don't have to be afraid to love. We don't have to be afraid to be vulnerable. We don't have to be afraid to live with our heart on our sleeve. No matter what happens... we can let what's inside of us come out. Because we know it's in there, and we believe it's in there, and we're not worried about who it gets all over when it comes out. We can love fearlessly. We can LIVE fearlessly. Fear is the mind-killer. And we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Letting the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. Letting our heart be our guide, instead of letting what may (or may not) come next dictate our course. Love isn't about what other people do. It's about WHO YOU ARE. So even when it seems like someone doesn't deserve it, or doesn't care, or won't (can't) receive it... don't let that stop you from being you. Love them anyway. Give what you've got. Do your best, and forget the rest!