Out and In part 4
We were brought out so that we might be brought in. Out of the bondage of sin and death and in to the Promised Land of rest. Jesus came down to bring us up. He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. But look at Hebrews 3:18-19, "And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." We were brought in, but we have to enter in. And if unbelief keeps us out, then faith is how we enter in. I guess what I'm trying to say is: If you keep looking back, keep focusing on what we've already been brought out of, then you could miss what we've been brought in to. You can miss out on experiencing and enjoying where you are, because you're still hung up on where you used to be. And, again, it is important to understand the bonds that we were trapped in. But only so that we can understand the freedom we now have! Let me use a turn of phrase from Acts 2:40, "And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation." Now I understand that "untoward" is number 4646 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "warped, that is, winding, figuratively perverse. Crooked, froward, untoward." I get that. But I think, in large part, the way we thing things warped is when we spend too much time looking back instead of looking forward. We look behind us and continue to struggle with things that have already been overcome, instead of looking toward something. So saving ourselves from an "untoward" generation simply means staying on the straight (and narrow) path that leads upward and God-ward! Not fighting battles all the time--Jesus already won the war to end all wars on the cross--but fighting the good fight of faith. Laying hold of eternal life. Receiving (and releasing) the gift we've been given. Entering into the Promised Land of rest by believing that Jesus did the work. Because if Jesus did the work we CAN rest. If Jesus did the work, we don't need to do it. And, as always, let me say that rest is not inactivity. Rest is Holy Spirit directed activity. And the Holy Spirit directs us... to love. By leading and guiding us into the ultimate truth of the universe--that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. The ultimate truth of the universe that Daddy loves you! Because more than anything else, that's what Jesus brought us in to. He brought us out of death, and into life. Out of the lie that says you have to earn Daddy's love. Out of the lie that says you're not good enough, and you have to do in order to be. And in to our true identity as the beloved Son of the Father in whom He is well pleased. In to the relationship of unconditional love that IS eternal life. See, we lay hold of eternal life by letting Daddy love us. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. So when we let Daddy love us, we fill ourselves with the fulness of God. We fill ourselves (to overflowing) with what Jesus filled us with when He filled us with His Spirit. When He filled us with Himself. When He filled us with love. That's HOW He brought us out, and that's how He brings us in. By loving the hell out of us. Loving the sin and death out of us. And loving His life in to us!