Nature part 5
Being filled with the grace, and mercy, and forgiveness, and love of God is what allows--equips and empowers us--to be who we are. Who we really are. Which is the righteouesness of God in Christ. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body... God in OUR flesh, love in OUR body--is our true identity. The love nature is our "new" (true) nature. We are new creatures in Christ. And we are in Christ... because Christ is in us. When Jesus was lifted up from the earth He drew all men into Himself. And planted Himself in all men. He brought us out of the world an into the Kingdom. He gave us everything we could ever want or need by giving us Himself. Jesus gave His life FOR us, and He gave His life TO us. In the Bible when it talks about names, the word means nature. It is not just what we do. It is who we are. God IS love. And because God lives in us... LOVE lives in us! And because love lives in us... we can love. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. Hurting people hurt people. But loved people love people. What's inside comes out--or rather, what you believe is inside comes out. That's why knowing and believing the love of God is so important. When you know and believe that God loves you, you can love Him back by loving people. You can stop trying to get something you think you haven't got, simply by accepting that you have it. By receiving and releasing the love of God. That's how you experience it. If you want to feel love... love somebody. Because love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. It doesn't come from trying to get something we think we haven't got (by trying to be someone we're not). It comes from God filling us up, and then us filling ourselves up to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. Receiving and releasing. Receiving BY releasing. Releasing by receiving. I'm telling you, if you let God love you to the point that His love is the focus and center of your life... that love WILL come out. Naturally. It's too big and too good not to. And, again, it's not just what we do. It's who we are. Love is our nature. Fueled by the grace of God. It is His grace in our lives that let's us be who we really are. Without fear of making mistakes. Mistakes happen. And then we learn from them so that we don't keep making them. Learning and growing. That's life. So don't get down on yourself if you mess up. When you know better, you can do better. When you know (and believe) the love of God, you can experience that love by giving it away. By sharing it. By loving the people God puts into your path. And the more you do it, the more comfortable you become in doing it. The more you do it, the more natural it is. Until it's not even something you need to think about. Until you don't have to fake it 'til you make it. Because you're so full of it that it just comes out... naturally. You do what you do heartily--to the best of your ability, and because it's in your heart to do it. You do what you do because it's who you are. You love because you are loved. You love because you are... love!