Priorities part 4
I once had someone tell me, "You don't really take anything seriously except for your son and Jesus, do you?" (At the time I was a single parent and it was just me and the boy.) And I thought about it for a minute... and then agreed. Because what else matters? Family and love. Loving your family. That is what it's all about. And, listen, your circle can (and probably should) grow. Friends are the family that you choose, right? You can even love your neighbor (as yourself). You can go out into the world and preach the gospel to all of creation. You can love everything and everybody that you come into contact with. Because that's what love is. Love is unconditional. Which means it is for everybody. Without condition. Without them needed to earn it. Love is a gift. It cannot be earned. It can only be received and released. And that, friends, ought to be our priority in life. Our focus should always be on love. Receiving and releasing the love of God. Receiving it BY releasing it. Releasing it by receiving it. Breathing it in and breathing it out. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing it's in there. Because it IS in there. God's love is not something we need to get. Because love is never about getting. Because love is giving. That's the key. The key to the Kingdom. If your priority is getting then you've missed the point that you already have what you need. If your priority is giving than you are walking by faith and trusting that you have what you need. God isn't a genie where the rub the lamp and get three wishes. God is our heavenly Father who has already provided for us everything we can, or will, ever need. And think about this: If he's already given us what we need... and we're working for (or begging for) things we think we don't have... that means we are robbing ourselves from experiencing the things we do have. The things He has already given us. And that's not even to mention how HE must feel if we are begging Him for what He has already given us. Or begging Him for things we don't need when He has already supplied all our need. My point is--if you focus on what you have, you won't need to worry about what you don't have. If you give what you've got (instead of trying to get what you think you haven't got) you'll be able to experience and enjoy what you've got. It's a much more simple life. Just letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. Letting what's inside come out by filling yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. Letting what's inside come out by letting God love the hell out of you and then loving Him back by loving the people, places, and things in your life. But it comes from a repentance. A change in mindset. Thinking again about things in light of new information. In light of the light of the world. In light of God's love. Listen guys. We love because He first loved us. We love because He has given us the love to love with. If love is your priority in life, everything else will fall into place. Because love is the silver lining on every cloud. Love is the solution. Love is life. To live is to love and to love is to live. You can't have one without the other and you can't do one without the other. So focus on love. Prioritize love. It is the Alpha, the Omega, and everything in between!