Purified part 5
The fire in you is ALWAYS hotter than the fire you're in. That's why the three Hebrew boys weren't burned up when they were thrown into the fiery furnace--they were purified, and their bonds were burned off, but they came out smelling like roses. They weren't consumed by what was going on around them. They were utterly consumed by what was going on inside them. The Holy Ghost wildfire of love fills us to overflowing and doesn't leave room for anything else. When Jesus remade the world on the cross, He remade it in His image. Consumed everything else and left only Himself. When the gold goes through the fire... only love remains. And watch this: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). What we see is what we be. When we see the glory of the Lord in the mirror--in ourselves and in each other--what's inside comes out. And notice that we are not changed from crap to glory. We aren't bad and we don't need to become good. Good and evil are on the same tree. The tree of death. And when you eat ANY fruit from that tree... well, what else could come from the tree of death but death? God wasn't punishing Adam, He was trying to warn him. God's not waiting for us to turn over a new leaf. He wants us--like Zacchaeus--to come down out of that tree. Because He wants to abide in our house. See, its less important where we are, and more important where HE is. Because its like that old saying, "Wherever you go, there you are." When you know (and believe) that you are in Christ, because Christ is in you, it doesn't matter what's going on around you. Because what's going on inside you is all powerful. Because what's going on inside you... is love. A fervent love. A "no matter what" love. From a pure heart. And, as always, I want to say that loving someone doesn't mean putting yourself, or keeping yourself, in a bad situation. You can love people and not let them abuse you. You can love people without being a doormat. Remember, meekness is not weakness... it is strength under control. Sometimes the best thing you can do is let someone go. But I digress. What I'm trying to say to end this Rant series is that when you know who you are, it doesn't matter what anybody else says or does. You are not what people call you. But you ARE what you answer to. What you believe you are. If you let the world, or your mistakes, or your perceived blemishes define you... you'll always try to be someone you're not. And you'll never be able to enjoy the gift you've been given. But when you let the truth define you--that God is love, and He loves you... that God is love and He loves THROUGH you... that your heavenly Father loves you and is well pleased with you--that's when you've been purified. That's when you've been conformed into the image of God's beloved Son. That's when the love inside WILL come out. Because whatever we believe is inside DOES come out. It has to. We live from the inside-out, even when we let what's without dictate what we believe is within. But, again, when we know and believe that God's love is within... that's when pure love comes out of a pure heart. That's when the fire inside consumes everything else. That's when we can give everything we have and everything we are no matter what!