Follow part 4
I've long said God is too much of a gentleman to force His will on us. He has given us a measure of free will. And I say "a measure" because when Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross and He drew all men into Himself... we didn't have a say in that. We didn't have anything to do with that. He did it for us because we COULDN'T do it ourselves. I love Romans 5:6 (in the New Living Translation), "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners." When we had nothing to offer... God gave us everything. Not because He wanted anything from us, but because He wanted the best FOR us. And that, friends, is why we can trust Him. I keep talking about obedience being a trust issue. If you trust God you'll follow Him. If you know He has your best interests at heart, and that He knows the end from the beginning, and that He knows the best way to get you from here to there... you won't have any reason NOT to obey Him. Or follow Him. And, listen, I've heard faith desribed not as a blind leap in the dark but as a blind leap in the light. Which I like. But it's even more than that. There's nothing blind about it. Jesus came to give sight to those that are blind. He gave us His Word (which is Jesus, which is love) to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. So that we can see where we're going. So that we might know the Way, and not turn to the right or the left. And WHEN we do (not IF we do) there is a voice behind us--in our past, 2000 years ago, echoing from the cross--keeping us firmly planted on the Rock. The Rock that is Jesus. The Rock that is love. Love keeps us on that straight and narrow way that leads to life. Because love IS life. And life is love. You can't have one without the other and you can't do one without the other. And I just want to clear one thing up: Jesus didn't die so we could live. Jesus died so we could die. He rose again so we could live. That's a very important distinction. Before you can walk in newness of life you have to accept the second death. That's what water baptism is about--leaving the old man behind in the watery grave of baptism. Rising up in newness of life is the death OF death and the eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life of God as Jesus lives His own life in you, and through you, and as you! We don't have to live Jesus's life. And thank God for that. Because nobody can live Jesus's life except Jesus. All we have to do is let Him live His own life. All we have to do is be still and know that He is God. All we have to do... is follow where He leads. And I'm telling you, the best way to do that is to NOT try to follow in His foot steps, but to let Him make His own foot steps in our feet. To be like Isaiah, "Then I heard the Lord asking, "Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us" I said, "Here I am. Send me"" (Isaiah 6:8 NLT). Answer the call. Let God--let LOVE--lead you. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are called, or identified as, the Son(s) of God! People will know us as Jesus's disciples by the love we have. The love we GIVE. And that, by the way, IS the more excellent way. Not getting, but giving. If you don't know what to do, do what you know. If you don't know what to do... love somebody. Go out of your way to just love somebody. See a need and meet it. That's where God is leading us. He is leading us upward and onward. Upward and God-ward! He is leading us into love by showing us how we are loved... by loving the hell out of us. Filling us up with His love so that we can love Him back by loving each other. Showing us what we have so we know what we have so we can give what we have!