Release part 1
The point of receiving... is having something to release. And, look, I'm not saying there aren't built in benefits. There certainly are. Especially when you consider that what we are receiving, and releasing, is love. How could there not be a built in benefit to letting God love the hell out of us? Feeling loved is one of the best feelings in the world. But so is the feeling of loving someone else. And I think the latter is even more powerful than the former. Because love is not about getting. Because love IS giving. The best way (possibly the only way) to experience love is by giving it away. So, yes, first things first. You have to receive it before you can release it. Look at 1 John 4:16, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." You can't believe something you don't know. There's a Divine Order to things. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. That's why hurting people hurt people--that's all they have to give. But that's also why loved people love people. First comes receiving. Not trying to get something, but receiving the gift that has been given to you. And in receiving it you get the good stuff. You get the desire of your heart. Because receiving means delighting youself in Him. And Psalm 37:4 tells us, "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Which isn't an if-then statement. It doesn't mean, IF you delight yourself in God then He will give you something. That's called earning. Wages. Works and labor. What I believe King David had discovered, and was trying to communcate, is HOW you EXPERIENCE the desire of your heart. Because the heart desires love. I don't think the heart is capable of caring about anything but love. And God IS love. When we delight ourselves in love--HIS love--the desire of our heart is manifested. In us. And through us. And as us. So then the question becomes: HOW do we delight ourselves in Him? And the short answer is: We delight ourselves in each other! Whatever we do unto the least of them we do unto Him, right? How we treat each other is how we feel about ourselves. And how we feel about ourselves is how we feel about God. If we see ourselves as dirty rotten sinners, we will see Him as a distant, angry taskmaster. And we will run FROM Him instead of running TO Him. I know things might get rocky when Logan gets older (even though he basically already acts like a teenager) but I'm doing everything I can to make sure he knows I've got his back. Because I want him to come to me when he has a problem. Or when he gets in trouble. I want him to know that I'm on his side. And, unfortunately, religious folk have done a pretty good job of communicating the exact opposite message about God. God is NOT mad at you. But He IS mad ABOUT you. Head over heels in love with you. Willing to die rather than be without you. He gave you everything He had and everything He is. So that you can have it. And so that you can give it away. So that His love can fill you to overflowing and come out of you. Naturally. Onto everybody you come into contact with. That's the life of love that Jesus lives in us, and through us, and as us. Letting the love that's inside come out. Receiving it, and releasing it. Receiving it BY releasing it!