Judgment part 3
There's a very simple but important principle in this life, especially in regards to our relationship with God, and it goes like this: Receive it and release it. That, really, is our purpose why we were created. God--who is love--wanted to express Himself, so He created us. He wanted something to love... so He created us. But love is a two-way street. Because love IS giving. So receiving comes first--because you can't give what you don't have and you can only give what you do have--but releasing is every bit as important. Here's what I'm trying to say: "To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD" (Psalm 149:9). God passed down, or wrote down, a judgment. And it wasn't a death sentence. First came death, THEN the judgment. It was raising Jesus--the one who died both for us and as us--to life. And, since we were in Jesus at the time (He drew us all into Himself when He was lifted up from the earth on the cross), God drew US out of death and into life. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. God's judgment was for us to come out of that death and into His glorious life! And now that we have passed from death into life, we can execute that same judgment--an abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life sentence of love--onto everybody we come into contact with. Once you receive it, you can release it. Once you know you've been filled with all the fullness of God you can fill yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with and you can let it come out. Naturally. With every breath you take and every move you make. You can let God love you and love Him back by loving people. God's judgment on the world is love. Receiving and releasing His love is how we accept and experience that judgment that was handed down. Let me say it another way: "And all thing are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18). We were reconciled... now we can reconcile. We are blessed... to be a blessing. To let what God has given us--His love, His mercy, His grace, His forgiveness--flow into us, through us, and out of us! It's the idea that while the truth (that God is love and He loves you) HAS set us free and made us free... if you don't know that glorious truth, you will always act like a slave or a prisoner. Even though Jesus unlocked the door to your cell, He came like a thief in the night. So it's not until someone tells you the good news--that the cell door is unlocked--that you'll be able to come out of there. It's the truth you KNOW that equips and empowers you to experience the freedom you already have. It's all about faith. And faith comes from hearing. Hearing comes from the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) of God! What I'm trying to say is: We have been judged. Judged with righteous judgment. Seated at the right hand of the Father in Jesus. That's who we are and that's where we are. So now that we KNOW who we are and where we are... we can begin to BE who we are and operate from where we are. We can now begin to help others know and believe and understand who THEY are. We have something, so now we can give something. And, in fact, it is our honor to execute this judgment. This life sentence. This LOVE sentence. God loves us, we ought to love each other. That, to me, is the gospel in a sentence. He judged us worthy of love. We ought to judge each other the same way. We ought to just execute HIS judgment. Not a death sentence, but a life sentence. A love sentence!