The Greatest part 3
Sometimes we get words mixed up, and it really mixes us up. For instance, when we hear the word "great" I think we immediately conjure up images of big, expansive things. We make it all about size. But that can be a hinderance, because sometimes the greatest things are the smallest things. An ear when somebody needs to talk. A shoulder when somebody needs to cry. Small things, that to the person who needs them ARE great big things. You know the old saying, "Helping one person might not change the world, but it might change THEIR world." And that's what I want to focus on today. Because we aren't called to be history makers or world changers. We are called to love one another. And the greatest way to love someone is to meet them on their level. Look at Genesis 46:4, "I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again..." See what love does? It goes down to where people are--in the midst of their bondage, and pain, and sin, and death--and it brings them up. That's what Jesus did on the cross. He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He came to where we were, and brought us up to where He is. That's why, on this side of the cross, we are as He is. Because we are WHERE He is. We're in Him, and He's in us. We're in LOVE, and LOVE'S in us. It's like what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:22 (NLT), "When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some." In the King James it says, "I am made all things to all men." That's what it means to lay your life down. Not physically, but Spiritually. Finding that common ground with someone. Being what they need, instead of who the world has told you you are. Because let ME tell you right now who you REALLY are: You're Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. And love doesn't demand it's own way. Love goes down so it can bring others up. Not falling in love, but rising in it! And, again, sometimes that feels like a small thing. But sometimes the smallest things are the greatest things. Giving someone exactly what they need because your heavenly Father gave it to you. So you have it in Spades. You can share it. You can be all things to all people. You can find common ground. You can love. Because you ARE loved. Because you are LOVE. And the best part is, when you're simply giving out of the abundance of the gift you've been given... the sacrificial love doesn't feel like a sacrifice. You aren't losing anything, because you're sharing what you've got. And when you share something, it grows. Like a Holy Ghost wildfire that feeds on itself but doesn't consume itself. Growing and growing like the ever-expanding Kingdom of God (Kingdom of LOVE) that it is! So that small gesture turns into a giant, unstoppable force. The greatest force in the universe.... love.