Priorities part 4
When you get your priorities straight you can focus on what's important and let go of what's not. Which is one way to find that inner (and outer) peace. Because, as we saw yesterday, its the peacemakers who are blessed. But you can't make peace until you have peace. You can't give what you don't have. You can only give what you do have. And the peace comes from God. The peace IS God. Because God is love. And there is nothing more peaceful than love. I know love can make you do some crazy things--we kind of use the test of whether or not you'd jump a fence for it around here. But there's such a sense of peace when you know (and believe) that you are truly loved. And, like with peace, when you ARE loved... you CAN love. But don't get it twisted; I'm not saying you need to try to get loved. I'm saying you always have been and always will be loved. By your heavenly Father. By God. Who IS love. What else could the God who is love do but love? So this constant flower petal picking mindset we have--He loves me, He loves me not--has got to go. Love never fails. Because love endures. Our priority cannot be on "getting" love. Because love IS giving. That's where our priority must be. Giving what we've got. Giving everything we have and everything we are. Laying our lives down for our friends. Making peace. Sharing the gift we've been given. And in that way, experiencing it. My son is a hoarder. He gets that from my mother. But the best things in life are not to be hoarded. They are to be shared. Given away. When our priority is on getting... that's selfish. And that's no way to live. Because once you get the thing you think you want--the thing you think you don't have--there will always be something else to want. Something else to get. There will always be "one thing you lack," as Jesus told the rich young ruler. But when we get our priorities straight we can be grateful for what we have. And, one more time, experience what we have by sharing it. By giving it away. And the best part is, we are connected to an unlimited supply of love. Giving it away doesn't diminish what we have. It enhances it. Because shared experiences are better. Seeing a movie? Pretty cool. Seeing a movie with someone you love? Even better. The same with meals. The same with just about everything. And I'm not saying you should never have any alone time. That's important to. Especially if you're like me and you get worn out by too much human interaction. Take a break. Take care of yourself. Prioritize inner peace. Because without inner peace you can't make outer peace. It all starts within and flows out as we fill ourselves to overflowing with what God has already filled us with. Right now I can't think of anything more important to living this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love than love (duh!) and peace. In this world we WILL have tribulations. Life happens. All day every day. But we can be of good cheer. Because we know the One who has overcome the world. And in Him WE have overcome the world. We don't need to keep struggling with every little thing. We don't need to let inconveniences wreck us. We can rise above. Don't stay stuck in a bad situation, and don't chase something you've already got. Get your priorities straight and everything else will flow!