Nature part 2
In order to let our "new" (true) nature flow out from our innermost being we have to understand that it is not something we need. Not something to aspire to. Not something to fake it until we make it. It is the grace of God, lavishly heaped onto us, that equips and empowers us to stop trying to be someone we're not and simply be who we are. I think that's the biggest mindset shift we need to have: I AM who I need to be. God created me the way HE wanted me to be. I don't need to change. There are some behaviors that I might need to let go of... some mindsets that need to shift... I might need to set my affection on things above and not on things on the earth. But I am who I am. And that's who I'm supposed to be. God doesn't want to change you. He wants to shine His light of love on you until you see who you really are. Who you have always been. And the only way to see who you really are is to see who God really is. Because He is our true identity. Jesus--God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. That's who we are. That's our nature. The love nature. And I started putting "new" in quotation marks because it isn't really new at all. If anything, it is a return to the old. Not the Old Testament. But the original state of things. When God walked with His creation in the cool of the evenings. When man was naked but not ashamed. And--I'm pretty sure I'm going to do a whole naked Rant series here in a little bit--I think nakedness, more than anything, is openness. Vulnerability. Not hiding things or covering things. That's our true nature. I believe that even dishonest people feel better when they are honest. Like, maybe there's a thrill of putting one over on someone, but that doesn't last. I believe that there IS a light inside of all of us. And that His name is Jesus. Sometimes that light is hidden. Or covered up. But I think it's still there. Just waiting for revelation--which means uncovering, right? I don't think... look, when Paul wrote about not being conformed to the world, that means that we--already--are not in or of the world. Otherwise he would have called us to come out of the world. He was saying, "Don't let what ISN'T you pull you in." Don't be conformed. You're free. Don't let anything, or anybody (including yourself), put you in prison. Don't focus on what's wrong, I think is what I'm trying to say. Focus on what's right. If you're always trying to squash "bad behavior," how do you have time for any "good behavior"? But if you're focused on the grace of God... the mercy of God... the forgiveness and love of God... then you'll be full of... God. Filled to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. What you feed is what will grow. And the best way to kill something is to starve it. Just don't give those "bad" things your time or attention. Don't worry about what's "wrong." Just maximize what's right. Stop trying to be someone you're not and just really figure out, and embrace, who you are. Get in where you fit in. Don't conform to what people (or the world) say you're "supposed" to be. Just be natural. Find those things that set your heart on fire and do those things to the best of your ability. That's how we live life to the fullest. Not by doing what people tell us to, but by doing what our HEART tells us to!