In Service To part 1
Here's my entire thought for this whole Rant series: It is important that we make sure the things we do are in service to the things we want. And I'm not talking about selfish desires. But even in that case... if you want ANYTHING, hard work is the best way to get it. Not Spiritual works and labor in order to try to earn something that can't be earned. Obviously. But when Logan wanted a fifteen dollar book... he shoveled snow and earned it. And he was very proud of himself. He wanted that book real bad, and everything he did from that point was in service to getting it. So that's the natural aspect. Now I want to talk about the Spiritual aspect. And for that I want the idea of being a "prisoner of the Lord" as Paul puts it in most of his letters to the churches. Let me say it another way, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). When we understand what it means that we are "prisoners," that Christ's love controls us, we will be able to really, truly BE alive unto God. Because we ARE alive unto God. We died when Jesus died on the cross, and we live because He rose again. Because He lives in us. But we need to know and believe that. We need to reckon ourselves dead to sin (or unbelief) and alive to God. We need to BE transformed (into what we've already BEEN transformed into) by the renewing of our minds. By LETTING the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. By USING that mind of Christ. By receiving and releasing (receiving BY releasing) that gift of God--which is eternal life--which we have already been given. Not trying to get... but giving what we've got. Because, Spiritually speaking, we have everything we need. We have already been blessed with all Spiritual blessings in the heavenly Christ. We have already been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. So in the natural we work hard to get what we want. Paul even wrote in another place, basically, "If you don't work, you don't eat." There's nothing wrong with hard work. It can give you a sense of pride, or accomplishment. In the natural. But Spiritually speaking, when we know that we have everything and don't need anything, that's when everything we do can be in service to... love. Which, by the way, is what it means to be "alive unto God." It means being alive unto love. Because God IS love. And being alive unto love means being OPEN to love. That, as I always say, is how we guard our hearts. Not by shutting them down and "protecting" ourselves... but by keeping our hearts open so that they can serve their true purpose--receiving and releasing love. The heart only knows one thing: Love. So, again, when we are alive unto God--or love--when Christ's love controls us... we stop worrying about getting and we start being able to give. We start to live that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God--life of love. We start to live in service to love. Not to get love, but because we have love. Because we ARE love. Not to get love... but to GIVE the love we have! That's what it means to live in service to God... to love!