Cherish part 5
We cherish the things that are important to us. Or at least, we really really should. We take care of them. Make sure nothing happens to them. Because they're valuable. And, in my opinion, there is nothing more important or valuable than people. I think there are only two important things in the entire univerese: God and people. Love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. But here's where it gets tricky--people can be infuriating. People don't always (in fact rarely ever) do what we want them to do. People get on our nerves and let us down. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it's very easy to love someone. Because our focus shifts from giving--which is what love is--to getting. We start to ask, "What have you done for me lately?" We start to get into the realm of appearance. Judging by appearance, instead of judging righteous judgment. We start "loving" people based on whether or not they deserve it. When, to quote on of my favorite movies, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." And when all of that happens--when we start being self-centered instead of Christ-centered--that's when we start to feel... off. I'm telling you: Love is our natural state of being. So anything other than that is foreign. And remember what we learned yesterday? We love ourselves by loving others. We feel most loved when we are sharing the love that we have. When we receive and release the love of God. When we remember that we are in this together. All parts of the same body. Different parts, assuredly, with different functions. But one body. The body of Christ. So instead of building walls, and letting those annoying things people do pull us apart... we nourish and cherish each other. We stop worrying about how things affect us, and we start bearing one another's burdens. Putting each other first. Looking down on people... but only to help them up. Esteeming others higher than ourselves. Putting others first. Walking a mile in their shoes and trying to figure out WHY they are doing the things we don't like. Judgment and condemnation doesn't turn anyone to repentance. But it does cause people to flee. No, the GOODNESS OF GOD leads men to repentance. Because the goodness of God is what we are repenting about. We think He's mean, and scary, and out to get us. Then we hear the gospel, the good news, and we see that He already got us. He drew us into Himself when He was lifted up on the cross. Connected us all together with the only thing that CAN truly connect us--His blood. His love. So instead of "us vs them," instead of me over here and you over there, we see that we are one. In Him. Because He is one. In all of us. Helping your brother is helping yourself. It's fulfilling your EPIC Destiny. Your Eternal Purpose In Christ. It's a cold, cruel world out there sometimes. And to cherish means to warm. We give a warm, friendly embrace and we let each other know that it's going to be ok. That we're all in this together. That differences are ok. And are not just there to be tolerated, but celebrated! You be you. I'll be me. And when we both line up with Jesus--with LOVE--then we'll automatically line up with each other in the only way that matters. The Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. You're important. And so instead of hating you, I love, and nourish, and cherish you. Just as the Lord does with the church. We love, because He first loved us. We receive it... and release it!