Listen and Live part 5
The Word of God is love. Right? Jesus: God in the flesh, love in a body. So its no surprise that Jesus said, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Because to live is to love and to love is to live. Of course the Word of love is the Word of life. Its the same thing. Living and loving is the same thing. But we spend so much time listening to anything and everything else. And, unfortunately, a lot of times we claim what we hear is God. Look at 1 Kings 19:11-12, "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind and earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." The world will scream at the top of its lungs to try to get you to believe its lie. And that's easy to do. Especially if its all you ever hear. What you magnify is what manifests in your life. If all you ever hear is what a scumbag you are... you'll probably end up believing it. But. There's a more excellent way. "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:66-68). When you know the truth you can ignore the lie. When that still, small voice inside you leads and guides you into all truth by speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... that's when (and where, and how) faith comes. Faith comes from hearing. And hearing from the Word of God. The Word about Christ. Which is the Word about you. God in the flesh is God in YOUR flesh. Love in a body is love in YOUR body. Because when God said, "Let there be light," He was saying, "I love you." He was inserting HIMSELF into your darkness. So that you could clearly see. Jesus told Philip, "If you've seen me you've seen the Father." Jesus came to show us who God really is, and to show us who WE really are. A heavenly Father who loves His Son(s). A beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Listening and living is about knowing the truth and that truth setting us free and making us free. Free FROM the bondage of sin and death. Free TO live and love by letting God love us and loving Him back by loving each other with that same love. Knowing and believing the Word. Receiving and releasing the Love. That's HOW we live; by loving each other. That's how we know that we have passed from death unto life--because we love each other. And that's HOW we love each other--because we ARE loved by God! His love fills us to overlowing and comes out. Naturally. Which, by the way, is how we are SUPPOSED to live. Its not supposed to be a struggle. Its supposed to flow from a posture of rest. Its supposed to be natural. Just being who we really are (who we are in Christ, which is who Christ is in us). That's why the Word is so important; it (HE) tells us who we really are. By telling us who HE really is. That's why listening leads to living. Because we aren't listening to the world's report, but we are listening to the Word of God. The Word of life. The Word of LOVE!