Maximum Effort part 2
When we were kids my brothers and I would use this as a test to see if something was worth it: Would you jump a fence for it? Like, "Man, I'd jump a fence for some chocolate right now." And that meant you'd give maximum effort to get what you want. But here's the thing, "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things" (1 Corinthians 13:11 NLT). There's a huge difference between being child-like, and being childish. Being childish is the same as being selfish. Me me me. Giving maximum effort to try to GET something. That's reasoning as a child. "I want something, so I'm going to do whatever I have to do to get it." But that's not rest. And remember, rest does NOT mean inactivity. Rest means Holy Spirit directed activity. You can get so much more accomplished from a position of rest than you can from running around like a chicken with your head cut off. Because when you're resting what you're really doing is going with the flow. Letting the love of God fill you up to overflowing and come out of you naturally. It's not something you have to try to do. It's not "fake it til you make it." And speaking of "fake" I just want to say that being nice to someone you may or may not like is not being fake. It's being mature. It's putting away childish things and acting like an adult. And in some ways I think that's exactly what I'm talking about. Giving maximum effort to PEOPLE. Loving PEOPLE with everything you have and everything you are. And do you see the difference? If you're jumping over a fence--or laying your life down--for someone else then it's not about you trying to GET anything. It's about you GIVING what you've got. Going the extra mile, as Jesus put it. Turning the other cheek. Not giving an eye for an eye, but giving love no matter what. That's rest. Not letting a situation or a person dictate your response, but letting love be your ONLY response. Your beginning and your end. And your everything in between. I think instead of making prayer our last chance we should make it our first choice. I think instead of breaking the glass in case of an emergency we should just fill ourselves with the fulness of God right from the beginning. Instead of being afraid of losing what we've got, or trying to get something that we think we don't have, we should pay more attention to the needs of others. Being humble doesn't mean thinking less of yourself. It just means thinking of yourself less. Being Christ-centered means being people-centered. Taking care of others because you KNOW Daddy's got your back and you don't need to worry about yourself. You're covered. So cover someone else! Give (or share) what you've got. And don't worry about how it makes you look. Don't worry about how they'll receive it. Don't do it because you feel obligated to do it. Do it because it's in your heart to do it. And what else could possibly be in your heart but love?