Open Up part 5
In order to let what's inside come out, you have to KNOW what's inside. And the truth of the matter is, what you believe is inside comes out. Automatically. Naturally. We live from the inside-out whether we realize it or not. But here's the tricky part: Love was there first. Before there was anything else, there was God. And God is love. But before the cross we didn't know God. Not really. Not in the way that we are able to know Him now. Because now we know Him through His Son. We know Him as heavenly Father. And we know ourselves as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. But between the day we were born, and the day we received this revelation of Jesus... the world heaped a lot of, let's say "stuff" onto us. And that love that was always there (even before we knew it COULD be there) kind of almost got buried under all that other stuff. The surface stuff that we see when we look AT the mirror instead of looking INTO the mirror. We don't always see what's inside because we get caught up looking at what's on top. But, like a duck, there's always so much more going on under the surface. So sometimes we need to put in the effort to see what's a little deeper. We need to listen to that still, small voice instead of what the world is screaming in our faces. We need to let the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of Truth--lead and guide us into all truth. We need to make sure that have an open mind and an open heart. The mind of Christ. The heart of God. We have to keep ourselves open to love. And in doing so, we open up. We LET what's inside come out. What's TRULY inside. Because, like I said, what you BELIEVE is inside is what comes out. But what is REALLY inside... is love. Love is not something we need. Love is something we have. Love is something (someONE) that we are. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. So when we know and believe that love is in there... guys... it (HE) is too big and too good to keep to ourselves. I know we sometimes want to fall back into "an eye for an eye." But there's a more excellent way. You don't have to just give back whatever someone gives you. And watch how important this is: Sometimes people have bad days. Sometimes they are "mean" to you without even meaning to. Sometimes we take things personally when people are generally more for themselves than they are against you. And I always say, "Don't take things personally. Even if they are." Instead of giving back what someone gave you--closing yourself off and just letting things boomerang off of you--you can give them what YOU'VE got. You can open up and let the light shine. It (HE) shines on you, and into you, and through you, and out of you! You ARE the light of the world. You ARE the righteousness of God in Christ. You ARE loved, and you ARE love! You just have to know what's inside, and open up so it can get out. Receive it and release it. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. Open up and let Him in. And by letting Him in... let Him out! He IS in you. He lives in you and you live in Him. So embrace the truth and watch it set you free and make you free!