Knit part 5
Love is the only thing that can truly knit us together. Love is the tie that binds. We're all in this together. Because of love. Look at John 6:44 in the Message Bible, "You're not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me--that's the only way you'll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End." And, listen, as you know I'm not going to get into "End Time" theology. I generally claim to be a "pan millenialist." Because I believe everything will pan out in the end. I believe things work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out yet, that just means it isn't the end yet. So keep that head up and keep on keeping on. What I want to talk about tonight is Jesus doing HIS work of putting us together. Which makes sense to me when you understand that God is love. That Jesus is God in the flesh. Love in a body. Love binds us together. Jesus put us together. When He was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew all men into Himself. And He planted Himself into all men. He is the glue that holds us together. God the Father drew us to Himself. LOVE draws us to Himself. Think about it: We run FROM God because we think He's mad at us. But we run TO things that we think will make us, or keep us, safe. That's why the revelation, the understanding, that God isn't mad AT us, He's mad ABOUT us, head over heels in love with us, is so important. It allows us to run TO Him because we know that HE (LOVE) is our safe place. And guess what: If you and I are running to the same place... we're all in this together. We can even, believe it or not, run hand in hand. Now let me say this--we don't have to. We can all go at our own pace and we shouldn't expect anybody else to be right where we are right when we're there. But at the same time, we can help each other along. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We can help each other. We can work together to get where we're all going. Remember what I said about the quilt? One patch by itself can't cover everything. But when you knit all those patches together to make a giant quilt... let me say it like this, "And above all things have fervent chairty among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). Notice that the Bible doesn't say "a" multitude of sins. It says THE multitude of sins. All of them. Because sin is unbelief. Believing the lie that says you have to do in order to be. The lie that says you have to earn God's love. Whereas love IS the truth. The ultimate truth of the universe that says, "God is love and He loves you." God draws us to Him so that He can give Himself, express Himself, to us. He drew us all into Himself and planted Himself into all of us. He did it because He loves us. Because He wants us to be able to experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. And in order to experience that life of love... we need to know that we are loved, and we need to have something (someONE) to love. Love is an expression of God. So we need Him to express Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us... and we need each other to express that love to!