Beloved part 5
When someone is beloved... that's when they know and believe that they are loved. That's when they let themselves BE loved. And that's when they CAN love. Receiving and releasing, right? Receiving BY releasing. But for today I want to focus on what being beloved means to the person DOING the loving. Because there's a lot of different kinds of love. For example, I love Mountain Dew. But only because of what it can do for me. The way it tastes, and the caffeine. But I wouldn't say Mountain Dew is my beloved. I wouldn't say I am Mountain Dew's, and Mountain Dew is mine. It's a one way street, with me and the Dew. Now look at John 3:16 to see the difference. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Did you catch that? For God so loved the WORLD. In the unconditional love relationship between Father and Son... the world got included. WE got included. It's like the covenant God made WITH HIMSELF in Genesis chapter 15. He included Abraham in it, but the deal was between the Father and the Son. Which, by the way, is why God GAVE US the Son. So that we could know and believe that we ARE His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. So that by believing, we could experience Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life! Let me say it like this, Jesus is God's only begotten Son, right? But He SO loved the WORLD that He gave Jesus to US! Jesus gave His life FOR us, and He gave His life TO us. So that we could have it. Experience it. Share it. So that the love inside of us could fill us to overflowing and come out... naturally. That's how much God loves us. He would literally rather die than be without us. Look at Romans 5:8 in the NLT, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." When we couldn't do ANYTHING for Him... He did EVERYTHING for us. He wanted the best FOR us, so He gave the best TO us. He SO loved the world. He showed His GREAT love for us. Being someone's beloved doesn't mean they get what they can get from you. It means they give everything they've got TO you. Because you are His, and He is yours. I am my beloved's, and He is mine. It's not a one way street. It's a loop. God loves us and then we love Him back by loving each other. It's not about taking and hording. It's about receiving and releasing. It's not about getting. It's about giving. Love IS giving. Because when God SO loved... He GAVE. Jesus said the greatest expression of love a man can have is to lay down His life for His friends. To GIVE your life. To GIVE what you've got. And that's why it's so vitally important to know what you've got. Because you can't give what you don't have. You can only give what you do have. Receiving isn't the be-all end-all, but it is step one. Receiving and releasing. Loving others as Jesus loves us. Knowing that we are His beloved... and knowing that we are each other's beloved! God and people. Love God and love people. Love God by loving people. That's what it's all about. And that's how it's possible. His great love for us fills us to overflowing with love for each other!