Steadfast part 1
There are two ways I want to go with this Rant series. Which is pretty much the Divine Order of things, as I understand it. First there is the God aspect, and then the human aspect. One way of saying this is: God made the way of grace and we respond with the walk of faith. His finished work, and our response to it. So basically, as simply as I can put it, God is steadfast, we ought to (and can) be steadfast in Him. Genesis 15:6 (AMP), "And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God)." There's so much in this verse. But I want to point out what a pretty good definition of righteousness, or right standing with God, is. Trusting Him. Period. No matter what. Believing in Him. Relying on Him. Remaining steadfast to Him. That's what it means to be righteous. And, as I've said many times, the most righteous thing someone can do is to love people. The most holy thing someone can do is love people. It's all about love. And love is giving, not getting. Giving what you've got, once you know that you have it. Receiving and releasing the love of God. But the trick is, you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So unless and until you really know and believe that God loves you... you'll always be trying to get what you think you haven't got. You'll always be chasing the carrot but only ever getting the stick. Trying to get something you think you haven't got (the love of God) by being someone you're not... is about the biggest recipe for disaster that I can think of. Because at that point you're a thief and a robber. You're robbing yourself of what you HAVE got, and you're robbing the people in your life of who you really are. You are God's love letter to the world. I've preached and Ranted on that before, and probably will again. We are God's expression to the world. When He wants to express Himself--His love--He does it to us, and in us, and through us, and as us. And, as I was planning to try to make clear, He is steadfast in that expression. He only HAS one expression; love. He only has one Word; Jesus... love. So we don't have to spend as much time as we seem to spend (waste) trying to figure God out. God is love. What does God want me to do? He wants me to love people. Period. How do I do that? By staying steadfast in Him. By trusting in Him. In His love. Letting Him love the hell out of me and then loving Him back by loving the hell out of the people He puts in my path. It's pretty simple. And, really, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Because love is our nature. It comes naturally to us. If we'll let it. If we'll look past ourselves--trust God that He has our back, and has us clothed and covered--and see other people's needs. If you see someone's need and you can meet it... meet it. That's the simpliest, and best, way to love someone. Just see a need an meet it. Do that enough times and you won't even have to think about it. Because that's not just what God does, that's who God is. So that's not just what we do. That's who we are. He is steadfast in His love for us. So we can be steadfast in, well, His love for us. We can receive it and release it. Let it in and let it out. With every breath we take and every move we make!