Live by Faith part 2
Faith kind of gets a bad rap sometimes, in my opinion. Because we use it when we mean "hope." Like we want to try to will something into existence--something that we hope would happen--and we call it faith. That's not faith. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith isn't believing that something WILL happen... faith is believing that something ALREADY happened. Specifically, the cross. Remember what we're building this Rant series on? The just shall live by faith. Have faith in God. Don't hope God will do something, get with what He already did. Stop waiting for God to move, and begin to understand what happened when He moved! He was crucified on the cross, and we were crucified with Him. His death was our death. And now His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love is OUR life! Not because we try to live it ourselves. Again, that's not faith. But by letting HIM live His OWN life in us, and through us, and as us. Its Jesus' life. Nobody can live it but Him. So we live by the faith of the Son of God. We live by faith in Him... and we live by HIS faith. His unshakeable faith. Jesus knew who He was (and is). Jesus knew the Father. He knew the Father's love. That's why when Jesus was baptized we see this, "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). And don't get me wrong, there are accounts where God said, "Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." But I think its interesting to note that in Matthew, God was telling everybody else who Jesus was. Because Jesus knew. I always say the biggest difference between Adam (God's son), and Jesus (God's beloved Son) is that Jesus knew who He was. God loved them both--God IS love, and cannot do anything BUT love--but Jesus let Himself BE loved. He didn't try to earn God's love, He simply let His heavenly Father's love equip and empower Him to live that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. He didn't try to be someone He's not. And neither should we. What we should do is learn who we are. Who we are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in us. And that's what we can have faith in. That's who we can live by faith. Christ IN you, the hope of revealing glory. The glory IN you... coming out of you. I heard a preacher say it like this, "You are the spout where the glory comes out." Because what you believe is inside WILL come out. It has too. We, as a species, are no good at keeping stuff inside. Be it good, bad, or ugly. If you're full of bitterness, that's what manifests in your life. Hurt people hurt people. But loved people love people. That's why its so important to know what's REALLY in there. So that the love inside can come out. Naturally. Not by trying to "fake it 'til you make it," or anything like that. But just by living. Just by doing what comes naturally to you. Because, believe it or not, that's our new nature. Our TRUE nature. The love nature. And the nature of love is giving. Laying your life down for your friends. Giving everything you have and everything you are without worrying about what happens next. Even if it seems like the more you love, the less you are loved. Don't worry about it. Love anyway. And by loving... live! Truly live. Live a life of love. Live by faith!