Follower part 5
It's like this: We are Jesus. That's our true identity. That's the name that's written on the white stone of victory that's given to us. But Jesus' name is His NATURE. The love nature. And the nature of love is to give. To share what you've got. That's what "following Christ" really means. Receiving and releasing the love of God. Walking in love. Letting your true nature fill you to overflowing and flow out of you... naturally. I said earlier in this Rant series that we might never find ourselves in exactly the same situations Jesus found Himself in. Literally laying our lives down for our friends. But every time we esteem someone else higher than ourselves we lay our life down. Every time we put someone else's needs and wants ahead of our own we lay our life down. Jesus said we would do all the works He did and greater works than those because He went to the Father. And the signifigace of Jesus going to the Father is that, in a sense, when He ascended the Holy Spirit descended. Instead of Emmanuel God WITH us we were filled with the Holy Spirit and transformed into the realm of God WITHIN us. So instead of trying to follow in His foot steps (which is impossible. Only Jesus can be Jesus) we present our bodies as living sacrifices and let Him make His foot steps with our feet. Guys, it's not about acting like Jesus. At best all that will ever be is an act. And when we think about taking up our cross and denying ourselves and following Him, what we have to understand is that it's HIS cross, and when we deny our old selves we totally and completely identify with our new selves. Our true selves! Let me quote our main passage of Scripture for this Rant series: "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour" (Ephesians 5:1-2). Be followers as dear children. Faith like a child, right? Abraham faith that when God says, "Go" we go. A child who trusts His Daddy. Walk in love just like Jesus did. Love one another as Jesus loves you. He sacrificed Himself for us. Gave Himself both for us and to us. And we ought to love each other in the same way. We have been equipped and empowered TO love each other in the same way! Because in the Old Testament love seemed like a burden. It was given almost in order to get something. But if you're trying to get something then you've comepletely missed the point. Because we've already been given the Kingdom. Already been given all things that pertain to life and godliness and blessed with all Spiritual blessings. It's not about getting anything because He already gave us Himself! He did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. Which means we have something to give. Something to share. Now we CAN follow Him because while the gate might be straight and the way to life might be narrow... HE IS the way, the truth, and the life! We don't follow a certain rigid path. We don't try to fit into a religious box made up of rules and laws. Nothing external dictates to us. What's INSIDE comes out naturally when we know and believe it's in there. The light of the world (that Jesus is, and that we are) shines naturally. Because it's light. That's it's nature. And we, now that we know and believe that we are loved, love naturally. Because that's our nature. We walk in love, and in that way we are followers of Christ!