Inclosed part 3
The secret to life is living from the inside out. Letting what's inside come out, by knowing and believing that it's in there. And here's the straight truth--we all DO live from the inside out. Because what is inside--what we BELIEVE is inside--DOES come out. The act of looking for love in all the wrong places is simply the manifestation of an incorrect belief that we don't already have the love we need. Coming from a place of lack is coming from a place of believing the world's lie. Believing that you are not good enough. Believing that you have to earn approval and love. When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river and His Father made the declaration of "You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," Jesus hadn't started His earthly ministry yet. He hadn't done anything to "earn" that love. Because love is not about what we do. Love is about who we are. And, yes, what we do FLOWS from who we are. But we can't put the cart before the horse. We can't try to modify our behavior in order to earn something that can't be earned. God doesn't want us to jump through hoops. He wants us to, well, live. And since we know that to live is to love and to love is to live, we can understand that what God wants us to do... is love. In fact, that is the New Commandment Jesus gave to the New Man. Love one another as He has loved us. Which, again, simply means letting what's inside come out. We WERE a garden inclosed. We have always had everything we needed inside of us. Created in the image and likeness of our heavenly Father. The problem was that we didn't know what we looked like, because we didn't know what HE looked like. Because it was dark. But then God--God, not us--took care of that by saying, "Let there be light." By injecting love into our situation. By injecting HIMSELF into our situation. He gave us what we needed, because He knew we needed it and because He loves us. It's that simple. God so loved the world... He gave. God so loved the world He gave... Himself. Jesus laid His life down for us. He gave His life for us... and to us. Because He wanted us to have it. God conformed us to the image of His Son. So that we might know who He is, and know who we are. And in that knowing we might BE who we really are. As He is, so are we in this world. It's not about trying to be someone you're not. It's about understanding and embracing who you are. It's not about getting something you haven't got, it's about experiencing what you have got. By giving it away. By sharing it. By letting the wind of the Holy Spirit blow through you so that all of the good things inside you get stirred up. Using what we've got. Being who we are. Letting the mind of Christ--that's already in us--BE in us. By using is. By thinking of the thoughts of God. Thoughts of goodness, and peace. Not anxious thoughts, because we know God has an expected end for us. Because we know we can cast our cares upon Him, because He cares for us. Knowing that our heavenly Father has us covered. He has our backs. He has provided us with everything that we need to not only survive in this life, but thrive in this life! Not by trying to gets something, but by knowing and believing that we have something. Not by trying to be someone we're not, but simply by opening up and being who we are. And, listen, when you open up... not everybody is going to accept you. That's ok. I know I'm not for everybody. But for those that I AM for... those are the people I'm going to pour myself into. Those are the people that I can make a difference for, and to. Those are my people. The garden was inclosed. But now it's open. Now the Spirit and the bride say come. Come and get it. It's open. It's here. It's available!