Heartily part 1
This Rant series is all about Colossians 3:23, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." And there are really three ideas that I want to explore. The first one is "heartily." Which is number 1537 in Strong's Greek Concordance and means, "a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds)." And number 5590, "breath, that is, (by implacation) spirit." So basically... and this is one of the most important things that I've been trying to teach my son... if you're going to do something, do it because it's in your heart to do it. That's the origin. Do it heartily. Do it from the heart. And do what's in your heart (LOVE) with every breath you take and every move you make. I think it's sad that so often we do things for all the wrong reasons. We look for love in all the wrong places, and we try as hard as we can to "get it" somehow. We're willing to do things for people (which is the third idea, that we're going to really look at in a couple days) because we think if we do we'll get what we want. What we don't seem to realize is that what we're looking for can only be found within. Because we already have it. It was a gift given to us from our heavenly Father. James 1:17 says it like this, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." God is the Father of lights. He is OUR heavenly Father. So that means WE are the light of the world! Jesus said as much when He identified Himself (John 8:12) and us (Matthew 5:14) as that light. So all we have to do is be ourselves. Give who we are and what we've got. But not because we think we're going to get something. Love is never about getting. Love IS giving. We don't scratch someone's back so that they'll scratch ours. We simply see a need and meet it. Because that's what's in our heart. If you see someone who is itchy... give them a scratch. James again. "Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"--but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?" (James 2:15-16 NLT). That's the most practical thing you can do for someone. See a need... and meet it. Not because you think it'll GET you anything, but because it's in your heart to GIVE something. This is the second idea (that we'll really dive into tomorrow): "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). How we treat others is really how we treat God. And how we treat God is a reflection of how we believe He treats us. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So if you love somebody, what you're really doing is receiving and releasing the love that God has given you. If it's in your heart--and you know and believe it's in your heart--it will come out. Naturally. Because love is not just what you do--with every breath--it's who you ARE!