Being Human part 2
What does it mean to be a human? Well, in a nutshell it means to be loved by God and to love other with that love. To receive and release that gift we've been given, and in that way enjoy it. Experience it. We always get so caught up on what we are doing. When, in truth, what we do flows from who we are. That's why behavior modification only ever works for a very short time. Scaring someone straight really only means teaching them to not get caught. But there is a more excellent way. Teaching people to do things because it is in their heart to do it. Doing things heartily--to the best of their ability, and because it's in their heart to do it. Letting love be one's guide. Love is what it's all about. Love is the whole point of the whole thing. "Why did you do that?" Love made me do it. When you are so full of God's love that it overflows out of you (naturally), that's when you are fully human. Fully... you. And I think that's the key: We are always trying to be someone we're not. We are always trying to conform to this world. To fit in. When we were made to stand out! Only you can be you. Only you can do the things that you can do in the way that you can do them. Only you can reach the people that you can reach, in the way that you can reach them. Which, by the way, is exactly how they need to be reached. I know I'm not for everybody. So I don't worry about it when people don't pick up what I'm laying down. But when I do have that connection with someone... I pour myself into them. I give them everything I've got. And I'm not saying I wouldn't do that for the other people. I can. And have And will. I'm simply saying, when it comes to love you don't have to force it. If you have to force it... maybe it's not for you. The Holy Spirit stopped Paul and them from preaching in certain places, right? Because that wasn't for them. I'm not for everybody, and not everything is for me. That's ok. I don't have to do things that aren't for me, or connect with people that aren't for me. I can still love them, but my efforts are better spent with the people and situations that ARE for me. If you want to change the world, go home and love your family. Right? That's where your influence is the greatest. That's where you can make the most difference. So while you're taking care of business, make sure you have your priorities straight. Being a human is not just about paying taxes until you die. It's about using the time you have to love the people you can. It's about knowing what you've got (the love of Christ) and giving what you've got. Receiving it and releasing it. Letting that love in and out with every breath you take and every move you make. Being a human is about being. Not doing. Because what you do flows from what (WHO, Jesus, love) you be. If you get your beliefs right, everything else falls into place. That's the Divine Order of things: Knowing and believing, and then it you know it... throw it. Knowing what you've got and giving what you've got. Knowing who you are (who you are in Christ, which is who Christ is in you) and being who you are. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there, and knowing and believing that it's too good, and too big, and too important, and too powerful... to stay in!