Opportunity part 5
For the last few days I've been saying "God is waiting for an opportunity." An opportunity to be who He is. To love. To mend a broken heart. To show up, by showing out--out of His people. But here's the thing, and this is where I want to end this Rant series, God also GIVES us opportunites. Its like how I've been saying He's waiting for an invitation, when in fact He is standing at the door and knocking, giving US an invitation to invite Him in. And I know my mom says this all the time, so I should be able to quote her properly, but the best I can give you is the gist of what she always says: Problems are really just opportunities for problem solving. So when we're talking about God, of course we're talking about love. "Problems" are really just opportunites to love people. And, as I've said many times before, it is the people who seem the hardest to love that need love the most. Because if they seem hard to love, that means they probably aren't getting any love. Its easy to love people that are your friends, or people that do stuff for you. But while that IS still love... true, sacrificial, agape love is about giving everything you have and everything you are no matter how you are treated. Love is never about getting. Love IS giving. And that's the opportunity: Giving. When someone gives you a hard time, you don't have to give it right back to them. An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. When someone gives you a hard time, you can break the cycle and give them what YOU'VE got instead of just giving them back what they gave you. And what YOU'VE got is love. What YOU'VE got is the ability to turn the other cheek. And when you do that, when you show someone something different--a more excellent way--you can make the most of that opportunity. You can flip the script, if I can say it that way. And instead of hurting people continuing to hurt people... you can step in with some healing. You can step in--just like in the beginning when God said, "Let there be light"--and bring love into the situation. Any situation. Every situation. There's always an opportunity for you to be who you are. Who you REALLY are. So when you receive the love of God, you can release the love of God. In fact and in truth, I believe that we receive the love of God BY releasing the love of God. This, I think, is where faith comes in. Because you can't give what you don't have. So when you walk in love you are walking by faith. Because every time you love someone (charity, love in action) you are proving, to yourself if no one else, that you ARE loved. If you didn't know and believe you were loved, you couldn't love. Again: You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. And you can only give it when you have the opportunity. Now watch this: The grand finale. You are loved... all the time. Even when it doesn't feel like it. Especially when it doesn't feel like it. So you can love... all the time. Even when you don't feel like loving someone. Even when they are giving you something that is not love. You don't have to wait for an opportunity. If you build it, they will come. If you look for it, you'll see the need. Its everywhere. Everybody needs love. And you have it. Which is the perfect opportunity to share it. To give it away. All of the time is the perfect opportunity to love... all of the time!