Family Business part 4
I think the story of Jesus--even as a boy--being about His Father's business is the best picture of what I'm trying to say in this Rant series. Let's look at it in the Message Bible. "He said, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?"" (Luke 2:49). And first things first: They ought to have known where He was and what He was about. They were surprised He was gone... He was surprised they were surprised. There is nothing in this world more natural than dealing with the things of your Father. I'm telling you, you were created for a purpose. And of course I'm going to use myself as an example. I always do so nobody gets offended. I'm a writer. I express myself best with words on a page (or screen, as the case may be). That's not just what I do, that's who I am. But while I've also wrote... it wasn't until I submitted my God given talents to, well, God that things really started to happen. Now I've published like a dozen books. Most of them about Jesus. I took what was special to me and did it in a way that is special to my heavenly Father. And obviously I'm not saying everybody needs to do what I did. Not specifically. Not as a writer. But you CAN do whatever it is that YOU do... unto the Lord. In fact, Colossians 3:23 says, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." And while Paul was saying WHATSOEVER you do, do it unto the Lord, I'm saying that when you do that thing that makes you... you... unto the Lord... man, that's powerful. Because if you're doing it unto the Lord, you're doing it in love. And love never fails. Love is the things of the Father that we are to deal with. Love is what makes life worth living. And love is what makes it possible to live. We are blessed to be a blessing, right? Called to live out of our abundance. Well, Jesus came the we might have life, and have it more abundantly. He gave us the ability to live out of our abundance by GIVING us abundance. And love is what makes the abundant life abundant. Its all about love. The family business is God and Son. LOVE and Son. That's who Jesus is--God in the flesh, love in a body--and that's who WE are--God in OUR flesh, love in OUR body. So in order to be about our Father's business, in order to deal with the things of our Father... its love. Receiving and releasing His love. Filling ourselves to overflowing with the love that we have been filled God. Its not my business. I don't try to do it myself. I don't try to go into business for, or by, myself. Its my Daddy's business. He set it up. Established it. Built it just the way He wanted it. So all of that heavy lifting is already done. All I have to do now is be a good steward. (That's where we're going to end this bad boy tomorrow, stewardship). All I have to do is take what was given to me and give it away. Share it. Because in this business its not about getting. Its about giving. Because that's what love is: Love is giving! Dealing with the things (love) of the Father means giving away the things (love) of the Father!