Faith Walking part 4
Sleepwalking is abiding in death. Before the cross we were dead in our trespasses and sins. It's not believing that we are loved, and looking for love in all the wrong places. The opposite of that is faith walking. Walking by faith and not by (natural) sight. Seeing the things that are unseen. The EVIDENCE of things unseen. Seeing the effects of love. Because that's what "walking by faith" really means; living by believing. Knowing and believing the love of Christ. Receiving and releasing it. That's what life is all about. That's HOW we live. To live is to love and to love is to live. So instead of trying to be someone we're not--and instead of trying to make others be someone they're not--we simply live a life of love. We embrace who we are, and who others are. We let people be themselves even as we learn to be ourselves. Not trying to live Jesus' life--nobody can do that except Jesus--but letting Him live His own abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life in us, and through us, and as us. Have faith in God, right? Trust your heavenly Father to take care of you. And when you don't have to worry about taking care of yourself, that's when you can focus on taking care of others. When you know what you have you can begin to live out of abundance. You can share what you've got... because you KNOW what you've got. Instead of trying to get something, you can GIVE something. Which is what truly living is all about. To live is to love. To love is to live. And to love is to GIVE. Love IS giving. It's never about getting. We'll already been given everything we need; blessed with all Spiritual blessings and given all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have what we need. And we have it in abundance. But, in a practical sense, it's not just "the truth" that sets you free. It's the truth you KNOW, and the truth you BELIEVE. And don't get me wrong here--we ARE free. That's the truth. But if you don't know you're free you aren't going to act like you're free. You're going to walk (live) by sight. You're going to accept what the world throws at you, because you don't know (or believe) that there's a better option. But I'm here to tell you there's a more excellent way. And His name is Jesus. His name is love. Love is the truth. Love is the way. Love is the life. Walking by faith is walking in love. Living by believing is living by love. Love is what equips and empowers us to live. Because, again, life and love are the same thing! Love is the difference between death and life. Love is what makes life WORTH living, and love is what makes living POSSIBLE. Because here's the thing: You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. Hurting people hurt people. But loved people love people. God is not interested in relgion. He's not interested in human effort. He doesn't love us because of what we do. He loves us because of who we are. And who HE is. And since what we do flows from what we believe--how we walk flows from our faith--when we know that we are loved... everything flows from that. When we know we are filled with love we can fill ourselves to overflowing with that love and watch it come out naturally. Not a beast nature, but a love nature. Not the walking dead. Not sleepwalking. But walking by faith. Walking in love!