Deeper part 5
"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end..." (Isaiah 9:7). The deeper you go... the deeper you find you CAN go. Which is important because I think there's a real mindset of fear when it comes to love. And by love I mean giving away what we've got. Or rather, sharing what we've got. Because when we spend this Kingdom currency--if I can say it that way--what we find is that the more we give... the more we HAVE to give. We are blessed to be a blessing. And the increase comes not from hoarding, but from sharing. Being afraid to love is really all about not understanding love. 1 John 4:18-19 tells us that, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us." We think if we give away what we've got we might not have anything anymore. But that's a selfish mindset. A mindset of, "I need what I've got so you can't have it." When, really, it's only by giving it away that we really have it to begin with! It's only by releasing it that we truly receive it. And when we understand that we love Him (by loving each other) only because He first loved us... when we understand where our supply comes from... then we can draw from the deep deep well of salvation with joy. We can boldly approach the throne of grace. We can go straigh to the source. And the source never runs out! There is no end to the Kingdom. No end to God's love. We can--and should--spend our whole lives exploring the height and length and depth and breadth of God's love for us and we'll never get to the limit. It's limitless! Which means WE are limitless! When you think, "I just can't love anymore..." you're wrong. You can. You can love because you ARE loved. You can forgive because you ARE forgiven. You can give grace, and mercy because you have been given grace and mercy. We aren't expected to produce anything. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. He produced the fruit of the Spirit (which is love) on the cross. And now we simply bear, or carry, that fruit out to those that need it. And by the way, "those that need it," is EVERYBODY. Everybody we come into contact with needs what we've got. And we don't need to be afraid to give it to them, because we can't run out. Love casts out fear because when you are filled with the fulness--in the inner man, by the Holy Spirit--there isn't room for anything else. You can go deeper and deeper and never even have to worry about hitting a wall. Like the city of Jericho... the walls came tumbling down! There ARE no walls in the Kingdom! Love without restriction. That's an abundant life. A everlasting life-long journey into the heart of the matter... which is the heart. The heart of the Father beating with love in our chests. What's deep inside us coming out with every breath we take and every move we make. Jesus manifesting Himseslf in us and through us and as us!