Inner part 5
Instead of living from the outside in--trying to conform to the world (even though you'll never "fit in" that way anyway) by following a set of external rules--we need to understand that we DO live from the inside out. What is inside is what will come out. Or rather, what we believe is inside is what will come out; either what the world says, or the Word of the Lord. That's why it's so important to know (and believe) what is REALLY in there. Why it's so important to be strengthened with might in the INNER MAN by God's Holy Spirit. Why it's so important to be still and know that He is God. Be still and know that God is love. Because that's where the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of Truth--leads us when He leads and guides us into all truth. All truth--the ultimate truth of the universe--is found in John 3:35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." The ultimate truth of the universe is that God loves us. WE are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's who Jesus IS. Jesus is God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. And that's HOW the Holy Spirit testifies of our true identity. He testifies of Jesus. The inner man. The hidden man of the heart. God's heart beating with love in our chests. A love that is too big to keep to ourselves. And too good for us to WANT to keep it to ourselves. That's what makes love all-powerful: It's not about getting. It's about giving what you've got. And that's the difference between living from the inside-out or the outside-in. If you're living from the outside-in you're trying to get something you think you haven't got. You're stepping on people in order to make yourself look taller. Probably the BEST you can do is, "I'll scratch your back IF you scratch mine." And that's no way to live. Because to live is to love, and to love is to live. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. Becuase love IS giving. That's HOW you live from the inside-out. You seek first the Kingdom--not in the sense of seeking for something you don't have, but in the sense of exploring what you DO have--and you find out just what you've got. And then you SHARE what you've got with everybody you come into contact with. You receive and release the love of God. And the coolest part is, when you give what you've got you EXPERIENCE what you've got. It becomes real in a way that is more than just head knowledge. It becomes heart knowledge. Knowledge of what's IN the heart. And then the hidden man of the heart is no longer hidden. Then the light that was under the bushel begins to shine for all to see. Then the Word becomes flesh. Every time you act in kindness, or forgiveness, or LOVE the Word (that's already IN you) becomes flesh. Love as an idea becomes charity as an action. Random acts of kindness, right? Except they aren't random. They are our nature. Not the selfish beast nature. The old man died on the cross. The old man died in the watery grave of baptism. But our true nature. Our love nature. That's what circumcision does; it reveals what was covered up. What was deep within. So these "random" acts of kindness end up being our way of life. I'll say it again: Living and loving. Because those two things aren't just connected. They are the same thing! A life of love is the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life that we experience as Jesus lives it in us, and through us, and as us!