Purpose part 5
Trusting our purpose. Trusting that all things work together for good. Trusting God's grand scheme. That's what faith is. When Jesus said, "...Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22), He was saying, "Have faith in love." Because God IS love. And that's our purpose. That's why we were created. That's our EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) destiny. We were created to be loved by God and to love God back, by loving each other, with that same love. To receive and release His love. To give what we have by knowing and believing that we have it. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So while the world can, and will, lie to you and try to drag you down... Jesus--love--can, and will, hold you up. The truth allows you to ignore the lie. To stop giving power to things that have no power. But while God made the Way of Grace, we need to respond to what He's done. That's the walk of faith. That's giving Him our trust. Setting our affection on things above (love), not on things on the earth. Purposefully choosing what is important in our lives. What is allowed in our lives. Because what you allow is what will continue. What you feed is what will grow. But what you starve... will die. You don't have to fight it. You just have to deny it your three T's (time, talent, treasure). And the best way to do that is to simply focus on the things in your life that DO matter. Its literally mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter! So don't let every little thing that comes across your path trip you up. Know your purpose--again, love... but specifically to you its that thing that makes you... you!--and embrace it. Be the best you that you can be by doing everything you do heartily--to the best of your ability, and because its in your heart to do it. If you want to get the most out of life you have to put all of yourself INTO life. Give it all you've got. Go big or go home. But let me say this: Once you've given it all you've got, that HAS to either be enough... or not. And if its enough, great. But if its not, you have to learn to walk away. Turning the other cheek doesn't mean you stand there and let people slap you over and over. It simply means you don't retaliate. If you fight fire with fire (in the natural) everybody burns. But Romans 12:21 exhorts us to, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." When you're heaping fiery coals on your enemies head, that's not to burn them. Its to melt their hearts. To destroy our enemies by making them our friends. To love people no matter what--even if its from a distance. Forcing your way into people's lives doesn't work. Any time you try to force anything down anybody's throat they gag, and choke, and vomit it up. So do small things with great love. I think that's the best way I can end this Rant series. Your purpose isn't to change the world, necessarily. But if you love someone--give them everything you have and everything you are in a way that they can receive and accept--you CAN change their whole world! It comes down to faith. It comes down to trust. It comes down to love. If you know, and believe, that God loves you... you can fulfil your purpose and love Him back by loving people!