Life and Death part 3
Get busy living or get busy dying. That's about as simply as I can put it. And here's the thing--we know that we HAVE passed from death into life because we love each other. We WERE dead in our trespasses and sins, but we HAVE been quickened and brought back to life by our heavenly Father. And not just any life, but HIS life. The abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. That's what has been given to us. That's what is available to us. So here's the deal: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). Its a choice. You can stay where you're at (where you THINK you're at), and listen to the world's report of doom and gloom. Or you can be like that man under the curse of the Law who does what he hates and doesn't do what he wants to do. You can struggle with "sin," or you can lay it aside. You can keep sleepwalking through life or you can awake to righteousness and sin not. And don't get it twisted--you don't awake to righteousnes BY sinning not. You sin not BY awaking to righteousness. 1 John 3:9 tells us that, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Which is good news when you consider that the wages of sin is death (not hell), and we're talking about life. Sin is unbelief. Believing that you have to earn God's love by performing. By being someone you're not. Believing anything other than the ultimate truth of the universe that says God is love and He loves you. Anything outside of that will cause you to go astray. Because either way, Christ's love controls us. Either we don't know we have it (ARE IT), and we do everything we do in order to try to get it, or we do know we have it and we do everything we do in order to give it away. Death... or life. Trying to earn something you can't earn... or sharing the gift you've got and in that way experiencing it. Life is a shared experience. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. And while you can't--I said CAN'T--dismiss self-love, and self-care... its so important to take care of yourself. To embrace yourself and let yourself live and learn, learn and grow... while self-care is vitally important, it takes two to tango. Agape love is giving yourself. Giving everything you have and everything you are to the people around you. Laying your life down for your friends. That's a life worth living. A life of service. That's what Jesus modeled when He got down on His knees and washed His disciples' feet. And that's what Jesus showed in fulness when He gave His life for us--and to us--on the cross. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could know that we are loved. And by knowing we are loved, love one another. Obey the New Commandment. Fulfil our destiny. Our EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) Destiny. Everything is at hand. Its within reach. We don't have to earn it. We simply need to fight the good fight of faith and reach out and grab it. Make the choice. Choose life. And then get busy living. Get busy loving. It doesn't have to be earth shattering. The smallest act of kindness can literally change someone's whole world. Someone's whole life. And that's a beautiful, powerful thing. That's love!