Be part 5
In order to truly live--to partake of the Divine Nature and experience the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life that is the gift of God--we need to stop trying to finish a work that is already finished. We need to stop struggling to get something we've already got. We need to stop trying to do in order to be. And we need to understand that we already be. Jesus drew us all into Himself, and He planted Himself in us all. The key is not "getting" into Christ. The key is BEING in Christ. Being who we are, and where we are. And this "change" (really a manifestation of the change that already took place) comes with the renewing of our mind. By letting the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. We spend so much time trying to be someone we're not, or get something we think we don't have, that we end up robbing ourselves of what we already DO have. We miss out on being who we already are. This idea of our works and labor somehow making us a "better Christian" is about the biggest trap there is. Because the harder you work to try to grab the carrot, the more frustrating it is when the stick moves. Under that covenant, that religion, there's always one thing you lack. And the thing that was lacking... was the Holy Spirit. Luckily for us God poured His Spirit out on ALL FLESH. He did what we couldn't do. And He did it both for us, and as us. He didn't just give His life for us, He gave His life TO us. Jesus said He had come that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. HIS life. He came so that we could rest. So that we could flow. So that we could truly live. And this is what it means to truly live: Let God love you and love others with that same love. Receive it and release it. It's a gift. You can't earn it. What you ought to do--and really the best way TO receive it--is share it. Because it's too good to keep to yourself. And because things are really real when you share them. Movies are better when you see them with someone else. Food too. Everything's better when it's shared. Because it's better to give than to receive. You have to receive before you can give, but receiving isn't the be-all end-all is. You have to know and believe that you are loved before you can love. But being loved isn't the be-all end-all. Being loved and loving others is why we're here. It's why the Creator created us. To express His love to us, so that we might be expressions of that love. That's who we are. Right now. We are complete in Him. He did everything that needed to be done. He finished the work. So instead of trying to earn something that can't be earned, instead of trying to be someone we're not, all we need to do is believe. And guys, the only reason we CAN believe is because Jesus gave us something (someone, Himself, love) to believe in. When you've been convinced or convicted of something it's easy to believe in it. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. We aren't expected to be something we're not. We're expected to love one another with the love that Jesus loves us with. To BE loved, and to LOVE. To BE transformed (into what we've already been transformed into) and to BE in Christ (because we're already in Him, because He's already in us). We don't do in order to be. We do BECAUSE we be!