Naturally part 2
Its only when we understand our true nature that we can stop trying to be someone we're not and just be who we are. And its only when we stop trying to be someone we're not and just be who we are that we can stop struggling and start flowing. Resting. Enjoying the gift we've been given. I want to quote our key passage of Scripture for this Rant series again. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:3-4). When I read this I come away feeling pretty good. Because, first things first, we have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. Everything we could ever need... we already have. And not only does it tell us THAT we have it, it tells us HOW to have it. "Through the knowledge of him." Jesus. Because HE is everything that pertains to life and godliness. He IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Way to the Father, the Truth about the Father, and the Life of the Father. And who is Jesus, in a nutshell? Love. God in the flesh. Love in a body. So LOVE is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Way to love, the Truth about love, the Life of love. What I'm trying to say is, when we get down to being partakers of the divine nature... its the love nature! Which makes sense when you consider (again) that God IS love. Of course His nature is the love nature. Love is not just what God does. Love is who God is! And since we are in Him, because He is in us, love isn't just what we are capable of... love is who WE are! And when you know that you have love--when you know that you are loved--you can stop trying to get love. And when you stop trying to get love, that's when you can give love. Guys: Love is NEVER about getting. Because love IS giving. Not trying to get something you think you haven't got by being someone you're not... but by giving what you've got simply by knowing and believing that you've got it. That you've got HIM. That you ARE Him! As He is, so are we in this world. We were made in His image in the beginning, and then we were conformed to His image on the cross. Which is super important. Because if you don't know what His image is... or if you think His image is different than you're image... if you see Him as a saint and yourself as a sinner... then you'll always be trying to turn over that new leaf. Instead of, as we saw in the last Rant series, getting connected to a completely different tree. The Tree of Life. That's the key. Because you are what you eat. If you eat from the tree of death (the tree of knowledge of good and evil) you'll swing back and forth between good and evil. You'll never be able to balance the scales, as it were, and you'll never be able to rest. But if you eat the fruit of the Tree of Life--which is the fruit of the Spirit, which is love--then you'll be able TO love. Because your appetite will be satisfied, and instead of trying to get--or trying to do in order to be--you'll be able to give. In fact, it'll come naturally to you. You'll be so full of it (the love of God) that it WILL come out naturally!