Grand Scheme part 5
God has a plan for all of humanity. A grand scheme. A mysterious plan. And that mysterious plan is Christ Himself. A plan of reconciliation, and redemption, and forgiveness, that culminated 2,000 years ago on an old rugged cross. Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." And He cried out, "It is finished." He made us right with God. He became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. We have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. See, Jesus didn't just give His life FOR us, He gave His life TO us. And now, because the plan succeeded, we can partake of His Divine Nature. The plan was mysterious because the plan was love. And love--true, sacrifical, agape love--doesn't make sense. But now the mystery has been revealved. Now it's not just God's love FOR us, it's God's love IN us. Coming OUT through us. Now we can EXPERIENCE the love that the Father always had (and always will have) for us. I guess what I'm trying to say... what I'm always trying to say everytime I Rant or preach... is that, in the grand scheme of things, love is all that matters. The Beatles said it best, "All you need is love." And isn't it amazing that in the grand scheme of things love is all that matters... and the grand scheme WAS (IS) love? God did what He did (both for us and as us) because of love. Period. What other motive could the God who is love has? And that's so important to understand too... love doesn't HAVE a motivation. Love IS the motivation. Jesus did what He did because He was moved with compassion and motivated by love. And what did He do? He improved the human condition. He healed people. Fed people. Forgave people. He wept with those who were sad, and He partied with those who were happy. He made life abundant. Superior. Better. He left people better than He found them. He didn't knock people down in order to make Himself look bigger. He laid down His life for His friends. He picked people up and dusted them off. I'm telling you, only two things matter: God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. That's why we're here. We're not here to see how much "stuff" we can get. We're not here to just pay taxes and then die. We're here to LIVE. And to live is to love. To love is to live. You can't experience this world--this KINGDOM--the way it's supposed to be experienced unless you know what you've got, and share what you've got. The point of being loved (besides the effect of being loved) is to love others. I believe that we experience love the most, the best, when we GIVE it. When we share it. When we lay down OUR lives for our friends. (And remember, we destroy our enemies by making them our friends. I believe we have friends, and people who don't know they're our friends yet.) The plan was a mystery, but the mystery has been revealed. Because the plan was completed. Christ is IN you. LOVE is in you. And since it's in there, it can come out. All on it's own. Flowing like a river of living water. Naturally. That's the plan, man. Let it do what it does.