Grand Scheme part 3
Here's the coolest thing about God's plan: It came to fruition over 2,000 years ago on the cross! It is not in doubt. It is finished! The mysterious plan--the grand scheme--is Christ Himself. Christ IN YOU. That's what happened on the cross. Jesus drew all men into Himself and planted Himself in all men. So the mystery... has been revealed. And even as He continues to reveal it TO us, He reveals it IN us, and THROUGH us! The plan came to fruition on the cross. And because of that it continues to come to fruition on a day to day, minute to minute basis. The manifestation of the finished work. The outpouring of the indwelling Spirit. What's inside us coming out of us as we fill ourselves with the fulness of God, by testing out the height, length, and depth, and breadth of His love. Testing it out by USING it. Loving bigger, and stronger, and longer than we ever have before. Because if Christ Himself is God's great plan.. then LOVE ITSELF is God's great plan. That's who the Lord Jesus Christ is: God in the flesh, love in a body. God in YOUR flesh, love in YOUR body. God's plan was never for us to be sheltered from the world, but for us to go forth INTO the world. And before the cross He came with us--in a sense. But now, on this side of the cross, He comes IN us. He LIVES in us. In Him we live and move and have our being. And in US He lives and moves and has His being. We are One. Knitted together through the one thing that can bring (and hold) people together. Love. I'm telling you, there is no greater work you can do, no greater purpose you can have, and no greater calling you can answer than to love someone. That's what it's all about. That's why Jesus died on the cross, and finished the work. He said there's no greater love a man can have than to lay His life down for His friends. And then He went to the cross and did that very thing. He showed us that love. He GAVE us that love. That was the plan, man. Give us something we could then turn around and share. Something we could receive and release. That's what the Holy Spirit--the love receptor, the Spirit of truth--is all about. He leads and guides us into all truth--all truth being that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand--so that we can UNDERSTAND the truth that we know. Remember, you can't love someone you don't accept and you can't accept someone you don't understand. There's a difference between UNDERSTANDING the plan, and knowing every step in the journey. I don't know every step. Sometimes there are twists and turns. But I understand my Daddy. I know He's got my back. I know that wherever I go, there He is. Because He lives in me and I live in Him. There's no separation. The plan was reconciliation. The plan was redemption. The plan was for man to see what was on the other side, and then choose the more excellent way. For man to try it his way and then see that God's way is better. Try to earn, come to realization that a gift can't be earned, and then begin to rest, and receive, and release. We don't need to make sure the plan works. The plan already worked. All we have to do is trust the plan, and the One who finished it. Let Daddy love us, and love one another with that same love!