Straight and Narrow part 4
When Jesus finished the work on the cross He made the Way of Grace available to us. He put us on the highway of holiness... by filling us with HIS holiness. By filling us with Himself. And we respond to this Way with the Walk of Faith. Not by walking in our own strength, or our own power, but walking by faith. By knowing and believing that the work is finished. Because when you know and believe that the work is finished--that JESUS finished the work--then you can stop with the works and labor and you can rest. And I know I always say this, but I'm going to say it again: Rest is not inactivity. Resting in Him who finished the work doesn't mean you do nothing. It simply means you let Him do whatever He wants to do in and through and as you. I've preached and Ranted on this a lot, but really it's the difference between, "walking it out," which we try to do in our own power, and, "walking IN it," which is what Isaiah 30:21 literally commands us to do: "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." And notice this... the Word comes from BEHIND us. Because the finished work is not in our future, it's in our past. The work IS finished. And, really, it has been finished from the foundation of the world. The cross simply brought it to fulness, completion, and manifestation. Notice also that the Word doesn't punish us when we stray from the path. It redirects us. It speaks of our identity, and builds our faith by testifying of Jesus (who IS our true identity). That's what the Apostle Paul did in his letters to the churches. He said, "There's some stuff going on that shouldn't be going on. Here's who you really are and here's what Jesus did to SHOW you (transform you...conform you) who really are. I'm convinced the only way we can walk this straight and narrow path that leads to life is by knowing who it is that's really walking. It's not us trying to follow in Jesus' foot steps. It's Jesus making His own foot steps in our feet. It's Jesus (who IS the Way) walking the Way with our feet. It's not what we do. It's who we are. And who we are... is Jesus. Who we are is God in the flesh. Love in a body. And--you knew I was going to get here eventually, right?--that's what it's all about. This straight and narrow path isn't about following a bunch of rules so you can be society's idea of "good" or "holy." This straight and narrow path (that, again, lead to LIFE) is love. That's who Jesus is, so that must be what the Way is. It's love. Love leads to life because to live is to love and to love is to love. We always think of it as denying fun (because if it's fun it must be a sin, right?) so that we can get to heaven when we die. But that's NOT what Jesus came to do. He came to give us LIFE and that more abundantly. An abundant life is a life filled with love. And when we stray off the straight and narrow path--when we do anything other than love--that's when the Word redirects us. That's when the Word reminds us that we ARE loved and that we are LOVE. THAT'S the path, and all we have to do is walk in it. Know it and believe it. Receive it and release it!