Habitation part 1
I try to only Rant about things that I think are important, right? Things that will help us experience this life we've been given. Things that help when the rubber meets the road. Practicaly things. Which, of course, is why I always try to Rant about love. Why I always try to look at things through the lense of love. I try to look at things cross-eyed, through the finished work of the cross. So when I build this Rant on Ephesians 2:22, "In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit," I want us to understand that this is a clear and present truth that is vitally important on a day to day, moment to moment basis. Because we are the habitation of God. "Habitation" being number 2732 in Strong's Greek Concordance and meaning, quite simply, "a dwelling place." We are God's dwelling place. We are where God lives. We are the visible face of the invisible God. And notice that I keep saying "WE." Because we are builded TOGETHER. Its not just me. Its not just you. Its us. Together. We are all different parts of the body of Christ. All different members of the many membered body of Christ. God lives in us. He dwells in us. We are His habitation. His natural atmosphere, if I can say it that way. And if God lives in us... that means LOVE lives in us. Look at 1 John 4:16, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." See, its not just God living in us. That's where it starts. We love, because He first loved us. Everything flows from Him. But even as He lives in us, we must learn to live in Him. We must learn to live in love. Learn what it means to live in Him. Learn what it means to live in love. We waste so much time chasing love. Looking for love in all the wrong places. Accepting whatever we can get because we think its better than nothing. Or because we think its all we're worth. But love is everything. Love is the God who IS love laying His life down for us. Giving us everything He is and everything He has. Simply because He wanted us to have it. Simply because He loves us. Guys, I'm telling you, the only way to learn how to love is by learning how we are loved. Learning how God loves us. Letting God love the hell out of us and then loving Him back by loving the hell out of each other. Receiving and releasing the love of God. Knowing that He inhabits us... knowing that He dwells in us... and letting that truth equip and empower us to dwell in Him. One more time--to dwell in love! God made us His habitation because He wanted to express Himself--express His love--to us, and in us, and through us, and as us. He wanted us to be able to experience His love. Experience His life. And the only way we can "live" the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God is by letting HIM live it in us, and through us, and as us. The only way to experience the gift we've been given is by sharing it. By giving it away. And because He has made us His habitiaton, we can make Him OUR habitation. OUR natural atmosphere. Because He lives in us, we can live in Him. Because love dwells in us, we can dwell in love!