Basics part 4
When you get right down to the basics the Gospel (the good news) goes like this: God loves you. So you can love people. To me, its that simple. And that really does make it simple. Love people. Not to get something, but because you have something. Because love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. Giving everything you have and everything you are without worrying about what comes next. Perfect love casts out fear, right? I think that's pretty basic. And since we are loved with a perfect love--by the God who IS love--we can forget about fear. We can cast our cares on Him, because He cares for us. We can live fearlessly. We can LOVE fearlessly. Which is what it means to truly live; to live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. A life without love is a life not truly lived. That's why its not good for man to be alone. Because we need each other. We need to love each other, and be loved by each other. That's why we were created. The God who is love wanted to express Himself. He wanted something (someone, us) to love. And He didn't just want to express Himself TO us, He wanted to express Himself THROUGH us. He wanted to love us, and He wanted us to love Him back by loving each other. And, listen, that's not a selfish motivation. He didn't love us in order to get love from us. He doesn't need anything. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. If He was hungry He woudn't tell us, because He owns the cattle on 100 hills. If He ever needed anything He would just take care of it Himself. And watch this: If WE ever need anything we can turn to Him, and trust Him to take care of it Himself. Not because He wants something FROM us, but because--as our loving heavenly Father--He wants everything FOR us. He wanted the best for us, so He gave the best TO us. He gave us His only begotten Son. So that we could be conformed into the image of His Son, and know that we ARE His Son. His beloved Son. In whom He is well pleased. That seems to be an idea that the church world doesn't really understand, but to me its about as basic as it gets. God is love and He loves you. What else do you need to know? Everything else builds and grows from there like a Holy Ghost wildfire that feeds on itself (HIMSELF) and consumes everything else in its (HIS) path. That's what love does. That's who love is. The Gardener that pruned every tree in the garden that didn't bear fruit. Washing us with the Word (which is Jesus, which is love), and presenting us to Himself as a bride without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. Showing us how to love by showing us how we are loved. Showing us the Father, and showing us that we are the Son. By shining the light of the world. The light that shines on us, and in us, and through us. The light that He is. The light that we are. As much as I think about all this "theology" stuff (and I really do think about it just about all the time) I can't stop coming back to that one basic thought. The ultimate truth of the universe. God is love and He loves you. You are loved so you can love. You are loved so you are love!