Heartily part 5
I always tell my son, Logan, "Don't do things just to do them. Have a reason for doing what you're doing." And I always tell him the best reason--really the ONLY reason--to do anything is because it's in your heart to do it. It comes from a place of love. Even things like eating, and taking care of yourself come from that place. Because no one ever hated his body, right? (With all of the image problems we have these days I think that verse in Ephesians needs a little digging into, but this isn't the time or the place for that. So... moving on.) It's a life of love. Being loved and loving others with that same love. Doing whatever we do heartily. From the heart. With every breath we take and every move we make. Doing things TO the Lord. To the One who loved us in the first place. Not trying to get anything from anybody because we have already been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have already been blessed with all Spiritual blessings in the heavenly Christ. God wanted the best for us, so He gave the best to us. He gave us His only begotten Son. So that we could experience Jesus' life--so that we could partake of the Divine Nature--by letting Jesus live HIS life in us, and through us, and as us. He filled us with His Spirit--the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, our love receptor--so that we could know and believe the love of Christ. So that we could receive it and release it. See, we don't do things FOR God. He's not our boss and we better do what He says or else. We do things as TO Him. Everything we do to people we are really doing to God. That's how we love God: by loving people. It's being Christ-centered (people-centered) instead of self-centered. I mentioned taking care of ourselves earlier, but in a "perfect world" it would really shake down like this, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" (Philippians 2:4). If I take care of you... and you take care of me... then neither one of us has to take care of ourselves. Another thing I'm teaching Logan is that we are such an awesome team because I've got his back AND he's got mine. We look out for one another. Because we love one another. I'll use this as an example because it literally just happened to me. We were eating dinner. And before Logan even finished his own chicken he decided he wanted mine. The last one. And of course, without even thinking about it, I gave it to him. Because that's what love is; giving everything you are and everything you have to someone else. Laying your life down for your friends. Esteeming others higher than yourself. Which doesn't mean you think of others as better and yourself as worse. Being humble doesn't mean thinking less of yourself. It simply means thinking of yourself less. That's what it means to live from the heart. Fill yourself to overflowing with what you've been filled with--apprehend what you've been apprehended of--and let what's inside come out. Naturally. Listen to your heart. Let it be your guide. Love never fails, right? And love comes from the heart. So if you're following your heart--it may be a long and winding road--it will get you to where you need to be. So don't worry so much. You have what you need. All that remains is to do what you do out of love. Do it WITH love. Do it... BECAUSE of love.