Knoweth part 2
You can't believe something you don't know. That's why--in the same way that we receive first then release--we KNOW and believe the love of Christ. It's like this, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3). And the phrase I want to key in on is right there at the end. "The measure of faith." God gave us all THE measure of faith. Or the ability to believe, if I can say it that way. And He did so by giving us something to believe in. By giving us His only begotten Son. By giving us SOMEONE to believe in. By giving us LOVE to believe in. Jesus said the greatest expression of love a man can have is to lay down his life for his friends, right? Well, He went to the cross and did just that. He didn't just TELL us what love is. He SHOWED us. And that's vitally important because seeing is believing. Look at Matthew 15:39 in the NLT, "When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, "This man truly was the Son of God!"" The Roman officer saw the finished work of the cross, and then he KNEW what was what. Who was who. His eyes were opened. He experienced something, and it changed everything. All of a sudden he could believe, because all of a sudden he knew the truth. And remember, there's a big difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. "Knowing" something and KNOWING something. That's what the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of Truth--is all about. He leads and guides us into all truth. 1 John 2:20 says, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." We know all things, but we don't yet fully understand everything we know. The Holy Spirit reveals God's love to us here a little, there a little. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. Which is to say, stand on what you do know, and don't worry about what you don't. You don't have to figure God out. In the book of Job it talks about how all we know of God is just the outer fringes of His glory. And I know that's an Old Testament revelation, but what I'm trying to say is that love is too big to ever really get a handle on. And that's ok. Remember the greatest commandment? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your strength, and all your mind? Love Him with everything you've got. Which, of course, means love PEOPLE with everything you've got. If you don't know something... don't worry about it. Focus on what you DO know, and let the Holy Spirit take you where HE wants you to go. That's called following your heart. Because your heart knows the way. But your heart speaks in a still, small voice. So you have to listen to it. You have to be still and know that HE is God. That LOVE is God. You have to know what you know. Understand what you know. Let what you know be enough, even as He is adding to it. Building on the foundation. It's a never-ending everlasting life-long journey into the heart of the matter. And the heart of the matter... is the heart. When you know love... you love. Because that's not just what you do, it's who you are!