Stand part 5
I think I have a very simple message to end this Rant series about standing. 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8, "Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." There's distress in this life. Affliction. Trials. Tribulations. Life happens, in other words. Every day. To each and every one of us. But just because we have to go through things doesn't mean things have to go through us. We can stand. And in standing... we can live. I'm sorry (I'm not sorry) but I get so frustrated when I see people always looking for a fight. Standing AGAINST things. Attacking things. And people. I don't like that. Maybe because I prefer to avoid confrontation. I've never denied that. But more because I think standing FOR the right things is better, and more effective. You've got to stand FOR something or you'll fall for anything. Any wind of doctrine will blow you away... unless you're planted on the Rock that is Jesus. The Rock that is love. That is our foundation. That is what we stand on... and that is what we stand for. That is how Jesus keeps us from falling. When we stand fast IN the Lord... we live. We enjoy and experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love by being still and knowing that HE is God. Being still and letting HIM live HIS own life in us, and through us, and as us. We are comforted when we stand in Him. When we receive and release the gift we've been given. When we let God love the hell out of us and then love Him back by loving each other. That's what this life is for. That's what this life is all about. And, listen, I'm not saying you should be ok with anything and everything. You shouldn't. But you don't fight fire with fire. You don't be overcome by evil. You overcome evil with good. The quote by Martin Luther King Jr., "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Instead of standing AGAINST things, and putting up our dukes, and fighting everything in sight... we need to stand FOR things. Stand IN the Lord and let HIM fight FOR us. That's what God told Moses: "Stand still and watch what I'm going to do." The only fight left to fight is the good fight of faith. Laying hold of the gift we've been given. Which is eternal life. Which is knowing and believing that God loves us, and loving Him back by loving each other. When you stand in love you can withstand whatever comes against you. When you stand in love you don't have to attack. You can defend, but it's in a way where nobody has to get hurt. I think it was Batman who said (and yes, I realize I'm quoting Dr. King and a fictional comic book character in the same Rant) that if you kill a murderer you are left with the same number of murderers. You don't need to escalate. You don't need to attack. You don't need to fight. You can just stand. Stand for what's right. Stand in the Lord. Stand in love. Train up a child in the way he SHOULD go. Stand FOR the things that are good, and let the good overcome the evil. Let the love drive out the hate! Let love rule and reign!