Can Do part 5
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. First and foremost, loving each other. That was something that it was nigh impossible for us to do before we knew (and believed) the love of Christ. You can't love people when you are looking for love in all the wrong places. You can't give what you don't have. And love is giving. Receiving the love of God and releasing it. Giving to those we come into contact with, not because we want something, but because we have something. Love is never about getting. Didn't I already say love IS giving? So what we can do is love. What we can do is live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. But we need to be careful, in a sense, because even though we CAN do all things, that doesn't mean we SHOULD do all things. Not all things are good for us. Or for each other. Remember how hard I've been hammering the nail that says, "Less is more"? I can try to "fix" every problem, but I probably shouldn't. Because often times when I try too hard I end up hurting instead of helping. Not because I don't have good intentions, but because sometimes I don't understand the situation and I come in like a wrecking ball to save the day and, well, wreck things. I didn't mean to make things worse, but I thought I should be doing more than I should have been doing. Sometimes we need to take a step back, take a deep breath, let things play out. That's one thing we can do. What's that old saying? "I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow." We can trust the Lord. We can let Him be who He is and do what He does. We don't have to run around like chickens with our heads cut off. We can operate from a posture of rest. Of confidence. Knowing that everything will turn out ok in the end. If its not ok yet, its not the end yet. So we don't need to do everything that comes into our heads. But we can do the things that we actually do need to do. The things that ARE good for us. The things that edify. We can forgive each other. Because we are forgiven. We can have mercy on each other. Because God had mercy on us. We can turn the other cheek. We can stop taking things personally. We can live and let live. We can let people be who they are, even as they are learning who they are, and learning how to BE who they are. And we can let ourselves take that same journey. We can let ourselves, and each other, make mistakes. Learn and grow. When things get tough, we can endure. We can survive. We can thrive. And, of course, most of all... we can love. Because we are loved. Because we have love. Because we ARE love. That's what its all about. Love is the alpha and the omega. The beginning and the end. It starts with love. And, as much as something that is everlasting ever could end, it ends with love. Love is the most important, most powerful thing in the universe. Because God IS love. And we were made in His image. Made in the image of love. That's who we really are. That's who Jesus is. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. We can do all things through Christ. We can do all things through love. We can do... love!