Live and Let Live part 5
Here's where we get into trouble, "You let the world, which doesn't know the first things about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2 MSG). We try to conform to the world. We listen to what the world is screaming at us instead of listening to the still, small voice of God deep within our hearts. Which, by the way, is my definiton of sin--unbelief. Believing the lie of the world instead of the truth of God. The truth that IS God. The truth that God is love and He loves you. That's what we MUST believe in order to experience the everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection Life of God. You can't live Jesus' life. Only Jesus can do that. Nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. But we can EXPERIENCE it by letting Him live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. And the way we let Him live His life in us, and through us, and as us is by letting the love of God--the love that IS God--come out. We live... by letting others live. By equipping and empowering them to live. By loving them. Its a life of love. And you can't experience a life of love without being loved and loving others. Letting God love you and loving Him back by loving people. That's the whole thing. The whole deal. That's what its all about. Receiving and releasing the love--the life--of God. You can only live through love. God's love is our life. And you can only let people live through love. Letting people be who they are and loving them anyway. Living and letting other people live. And I'm telling you, that's truly the only way to live. You can't control people. People are going to do what they're going to do. And they're going to do what they believe is best for them. Even people with, like, substance abuse problems. They aren't doing what they're doing because they think its bad. They're doing it because they think its the best they can do. I think people generally try their best. Not necessarily to do what you think they should be doing, but probably for what they think they should be doing. Or what they think they're capable of. So trying to impose your values, or your beliefs, on someone else... is folly. If someone's doing the best they think they can, and you're telling them they aren't doing enough... how would that help them? But if you love them, and support them (I say SUPPORT, not ENABLE), and show them who they really are--by showing them who you really are, by showing them who God really is, which is love--that's when they might see something better than they thought they were capable of. That's when they might see a more excellent way. And in seeing, want that more excellent way. So just make sure your own actions line up with your beliefs. If you believe in love, make sure you live a life of charity (love in action). And by staying in your lane, by walking worthy of your calling, you will give what you've got. You will let the love inside come out. And when that love comes out, that's when other people can experience it too. Because love is giving. Life is living. Giving what you've got. Sharing the gift you've been given. Loving people!