Hidden part 5
I've been hinting about this, and kind of turned it on its head a little bit yesterday, but to end this Rant series I want to focus on what Jesus said in Luke 8:17, "For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad." In other words, what is in you WILL come out of you. Or, as I always qualify it, what you BELIEVE is inside will come out. Because its your belief in it that brings it out. What you believe--either the lie of the world or the truth of the Lord--is what will manifest in your life. And what I've been trying to say these past few days is that the buried, hidden treasure--the hidden man of the heart... love--is what is so valuable. Being hidden doesn't make it less valuable. It can, in fact, make it more valuable. Because it takes effort to get it out. Not works and labor--because works and labor don't work--but the maximum effort of putting in the time to get to know someone... to build that relationship that really lets you reach someone... that's huge. I think a lot of people feel like they aren't worthy of love. That's that lie of the world tells. That's what the serpent hissed in Eve's ear. "You're not good enough. But if you do this, this, and this... if you jump through all of these hoops... then maybe, just maybe, some day you might be good enough." And, unfortunately, that's the trap that religion uses too. But that's not the ultimate truth of the universe. The ultimate truth of the universe says, "God is love and He loves you." Always has and always will. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross He drew all men unto Himself. And He planted Himself in all men. Deep inside. The inner man. But that's what's so glorious about all of this. He planted Himself in us, AND He draws Himself out of us. Out THROUGH us. What's hidden shall be known. And when WE know it, that's when other people will know it. When we know and believe what is really inside... that's when it comes out. Nothing stays hidden forever. Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead, right? What's inside is too big to stay inside. It HAS to come out. And what makes this hidden love manifest... what makes this hidden love be known and come abroad... is the light (of love) shining on it. Love feeds on love. Love FEEDS love. Love is what makes everything grow. Love is what makes the world go 'round. It takes effort sometimes to uncover what has been hidden. But, as always, that effort comes from God. He always does all of the heavy lifting. He never requires anything He doesn't first provide. We love Him because He first loved us. We love Him by loving each other. We love each other because of the love He has filled us with. All we have to do is fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. All we have to do is have a little faith. Have faith in God. Have faith in love. Where your treasure is, so will your heart be. What's important to you is what you take care of. And in this case, we take care of it by giving it away. By sharing it. We reveal what has been hidden by shining the light on it. By showing it to people. Giving it to people!