In Service To part 5
To end this Rant series, all I want to say is: A life lived in service to love is the only life worth living. Jesus proved that to us when He--out of love--gave His life for us, and to us. God showed His love for us by dying for us (and as us). He gave us everything He had and everything He was. Everything He is. God basically said, "I would rather die than live without you." And the funny part is, HE never left us. He swore He would never leave us nor forsake us. But we ran from Him because we were ashamed of our nakedness. We ran from him and hid from His presence because we (wrongly) thought that He was mad at us. Guys, God is NOT mad AT you. He is mad ABOUT you. Head over heels in love with you. You are the apple of His eye. You are His favorite. Always have been, always will be. And it has NOTHING to do with anything you've done, or will do. When Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove and God declared, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," He hadn't even started His earthly ministry yet. He hadn't healed anybody. He hadn't walked on water. Anything. Because, see, what really happened was that the affirmation of the Father equipped and empowered to Son to go on and do all of those things. Jesus didn't do anything to EARN God's approval. He did things OUT OF God's approval. He wasn't trying to get something. He was simply giving what He had. Being who He was. And, if you follow that story, as soon as God was done declaring His love, the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And Jesus was able to stand on that preceeding Word. That Word of affirmation. That Word of Love. When the accuser tried to tempt Him, Jesus stood on the Rock and could not be shaken. He knew who He was. His heavenly Father had just told Him who He was. So He didn't need to try to be anyone else. He was dead to sin, and alive unto God. Dead to unbelief and alive to love. He didn't need anything from anybody else. His Father had provided all of His need. Nobody else had anything ot offer. Let me say it this way: When you know the truth its easy to ignore the lie. Its POSSIBLE to ignore the lie. When you know what that still, small voice is saying with every beat of God's heart in your chest... you can let what the world is screaming at you roll off you like water off a duck's back. That, to be honest, is why I really don't care very much about what people say about me. They don't know what they're talking about. They don't know the whole story--or usually, any part of it. So its mind over matter. If you don't mind, they don't matter. But that doesn't mean that I don't love those people anyway. Just like God loved us when we were sinners. Loved us enough to die on the cross for us. Literally lived His entire life in service to love. In service... to us. Living, and dying, and rising again. So that we could have that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. So that we could experience that life of love as Jesus Himself lives His own life in us, and through us, and as us. That's how life works. That's what life is. Its love, man. Its all about love. If you have to be in service to anything... live a life in service to love.