Mine part 4
There's a song called, "He's Mine." And the whole time the singer's son is doing things that might not necessarily be seen in a positive light. And the whole time the singer is proud as could be to claim him. Because he sees himself in his son. It's not about what you do... it's about who you are. And who your Daddy is. Remember when Jesus was baptized, "And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). God didn't say, "You've done a lot of good stuff." He said, "You are my beloved Son." A Father's pleasure doesn't come from what His Son DOES... it comes from who His Son IS. Because what you do FLOWS from who you are. Another song lyric, from Daniel Tiger, says it like this, "It's YOU I like... NOT the things you do!" And this is important because people do dumb stuff. People make mistakes. They don't always agree with you or do things you agree with. So if you're judging people based on actions it's going to be like pulling flower petals, "He loves me... he loves me not." And that's not a real relationship. (At least not a healthy one.) If love is conditional, it's not love. Love never fails because it endures. Through the "good" and the "bad." Through it all. Love is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. And it is also everything in between. The unconditional love of a Father and His Son in whom He is well pleased. And let's flip the script on that: If a Son is afraid that His Father's love comes (and goes) according to His actions... He might try really hard to earn, or keep, that love. But He'll be living in a state of constant fear and torment. And when He inevitably fails He will become frustrated. He will try to run FROM God instead of running TO God. Because even though there IS no condemnation in Christ... when we judge ourselves by our actions we heap condemnation on ourselves. And on each other. When we don't know who we are, we try to be someone else. We swallow the lie that the serpent hissed into Eve's ear. The lie about the knowledge of good and evil. The lie about doing in order to be. Guys, we don't do in order to be. We do BECAUSE we be. You can't earn Sonship. It's not what you do, it's who you are. And when you know who you are you can be who you are EFFORTLESSLY. You can stop trying to finish a work that has already been finished, and you can rest. When you see the finished work of the cross you can rest in the arms of your heavenly Father. He streched His arms out in a loving embrace. He did it all so we could get it all. Because He loves us. Because we belong to Him. I am His. He is mine. I live in Him. He lives in me. There is no flower petal. There is no separation. There is no tree of knowledge of good and evil. There is only the Tree of Life. Only the Fruit of the Spirit--which is love. We eat the fruit, and we share the fruit with those who are hungry. He is the vine and we are the branches. We don't produce the fruit--it's about what HE did, not what WE do--we simply bear it. Because we're just like Him. We were created in His image, and conformed to the image of His Son. We don't have to try to be someone we're not, when we know and believe His love for us. The love of a Father who is well pleased with His Son!