Remain part 2
We remain in God's love by loving people. That's the commandment--the NEW commandment for the New Man--that Jesus gave. And He didn't just give the command, He also gave us the ability to obey that command. Love one another... as Jesus loves us. We don't have to--and thank God, because we can't--do it in our own strength and power. We don't have to--and thank God, because we can't--earn anything. We don't have to DO anything in order to BE loved. But because we ARE loved... we CAN do anything. We can LIVE. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. God wanted us to experience, or stand, or remain, or abide, in His love... so He gave it to us. He wanted us to experience, or stand, or remain, or abide, in HIM. He wanted us to have His life... so He gave it to us. So that we could enjoy that gift of God as He lives His own abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life in us, and through us, and as us. Unfortunately, we've kind of gotten to the place where we think its plucking flower petals. We think God's love for us depends on our actions. We think the smallest thing can disqualify us, or separate us, from God's love. Because we think of that love as too good to be true. And we see ourselves as unworthy of it. That's why love must be given away; because if you think you need to GET something... even if you do it'll never be enough. Under that economy, or covenant, there is always one thing you lack. Its like... people sometimes ask me what my favorite book is. And I always say, "The next one." That's not a title of a book, that's my unquenchable appetite FOR books. I read one and then I move on to the next one. That seems to be how we think God deals with us--He loves us for a while and then moves on to someone else. Like, if we have a really good day... God must have smiled on us that day. And I'm not saying He didn't. We are His beloved Son(s) in whom He is well pleased. I believe He smiles on us everyday. My point is... a good day doesn't mean you're loved any more than a bad day means you're not loved. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike, right? Life happens to us all. Good days come and go. But God's love doesn't. It has always been, and it will always be. In Revelation 21:3 in the Message Bible we read, "I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: 'Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God.'" And I believe that the entire book of Revelation is an in-depth look at the cross. So on the cross, when God reconciled us back to Himself, He moved into the neighborhood. God WITH us became God WITHIN us. He moved in, and He's never moving out. Because He's right where He needs to be. Right where He WANTS to be. I believe our God is a happy God because He got exactly what He wanted: US! We're His people. He's our God. And since He's never moving out--since He has taken up abode in us--we don't have to worry about there ever being a "He loves me not" situation. Guys. Love never fails. Because it (HE) endures. Love remains. No matter what else happens... God is love. And He loves you. That's the bottom line. And the top line. The Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. And everything in between. He remains in us by loving us. And we remain in Him by loving Him back by loving each other!