Knit part 4
We're all in this together. That's the drum I keep trying to bang. We're all in this together. Knit together in love. Now look at this: "Christ brought us together through his death on the Cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility" (Ephesians 2:16 MSG). Because knowing THAT we are knit together is not as powerful as knowing HOW we got knit together. Its easy to say, "Well, we're all human." And that should be enough. But I would say its "human" nature to build walls between one human and the next. To say, "I'm this and you're that." To focus on the differences. To draw lines in the sand. So we need something to connect us. That's what I'm trying to say. We need a reason to embrace each other. And that was the cross. That was Jesus wrapping all of humanity up in Himself. Bringing us all together in Him. And then dying. Getting rid of everything that COULD separate us. And then coming back to life. But not just life... HIS life. The abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God. The life of love that the God who IS love always wanted for us. He wanted us to experience it... so He gave it to us. That's why this idea of us having to earn things from God doesn't hold any water for me--He wanted us to have it so He gave it to us. Period. Jesus didn't just give His life FOR us... He gave it TO us. And He gave us all the same life. So that we wouldn't have to be jealous of each other, or anything like that. Everything Jesus has, everything Jesus IS, is available to us. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His (our) hands. And knowing what we have (knowing it and believing it) is what equips and empowers us to enjoy the gift we've been given. We can share what we've got. We can give it away. And by giving it away... we knit ourselves together with love. We strengthen that bond, that connection. Not by trying to get something from each other... but by giving what we've got TO each other. Love is giving. Simple as that. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. A three-fold cord is not easily broken. You... me... God. Three. You... me... love. Look at Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Where there are at least two of us, gathered in the name of love, making that connection... that's where God is. He dwells in love because He IS love. But it takes (at least) two to tango. Someone to love, and someone to be loved. Love is an expression and you have to have someone to express yourself to. We're all in this together. Because of the cross. The reconciliation. We CAN embrace each other, because the hostility has ended. We don't have to fight WITH each other... we can fight FOR each other. We don't have to draw lines in the sand and say, "I'm on this side and you're on that said." We can all be on the same side. We can all help each other and share what we have with each other. We can truly BE in this together. Going the same way. Helping each other. Loving each other. Knit together in love. Love is that connection. Love is what binds us together. Its all about love!