Easy Does It part 5
A soft word (Word, love) turns away wrath. We don't have to retaliate when someone does something we don't like. We can turn the other cheek, let people be who they are, and still love them. We can live and let live. Which is where I want to end this Rant series. Three memory verses. Rapid fire: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passesd from death unto life" (John 5:24). "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (Proverbs 18:21). The difference between life and death is that soft word. Love. Love is literally the difference between life and death. Know love, know life. No love, no life. And love is the Word of God. Love is the Word that has power. We can empower people to live by loving them. We CANNOT empower people to live by condemning them. By judging them according to appearance. It is only by juding righteous judgment--by applying, or handing down, the righteous judgment that has already been passed down from Father to Son. Not a death sentence, but a life sentence. An abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life sentence! Jesus didn't just give His life FOR us, He gave His life TO us. So that we could have it. So that we could experience it by letting Him live His own life of love in us, and through us, and as us. I can't stress how important love is to life. I feel like its all I ever Rant about. And love is so important TO life because love IS life. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. So, like I said, let's live and let live. Let's love people and let them do their thing. Let's take it easy on people. Esteem people higher than ourselves. Put others first. If something you want to do is going to cause someone to stumble... don't do it. Its not worth it. People are most important. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. And while charity is love is action, words go a long way. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word (again, Jesus... love) of God. Telling someone "I love you" and then backing that Word up with your actions is really the only way to have a real, meaningful, lasting relationship with them. Love is the foundation that relationship is built on. And relationship is about partnership. About sharing your lives. Sharing yourself. Its not about manipulation and control. Its not about someone dominating someone else. Its about doing things FOR people, not getting things FROM people. Love is giving. Never getting. And while love can be hard, you can still take it easy. You don't have to fight in order to compromise. Relationships ARE hard, but they don't have to be a battle. Easy does it. Speak love. Speak life. Let what's inside flow. Don't worry about getting, just give what you've got!