The Power of Love part 5
The power of love is that it is not over powering. Look at what 1 Corinthians 13:5 in the NLT says about love, "...It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged." Love gives everything it has and everything it is with NO EXPECTATION of getting something back. Love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. Love doesn't work on a "deserve" type of level. Love doesn't care about what you do. Love cares about who you are. That's why it's so important to understand the unconditional love relationship between Father and Son. So important to see--to KNOW--God as your heavenly Father, and yourself as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. When you have what you need, and you know what you have, you don't need to get anything from anybody. When you know the truth, you can ignore the lie. When you know you are loved... you can love. Period. Exclamation mark. The end. Because love IS the end (in as much as something everlasting, and eternal, and abundant, and Resurrection HAS an end). Love is the be-all, end-all. And yet, even though love is all-powerful... love does not demand it's own way. I said a long time ago, God is too much of a gentleman to force His way on you. Again, there are circumstances when He will move heaven and earth in order to make something happen. Right, Jonah? But for the most part He is willing to let people do what they want to do. Israel wanted a human king. God told them it was a bad idea, but He gave them one. Eve wanted to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam what would happen if he ate from that tree of death, but He didn't STOP Adam from eating it. What He did, in both cases, was He stuck with His people no matter what. He lived His promise of never leaving nor forsaking us. And that's why love never fails: because it (He) endures. He doesn't WANT us to make bad decisions, but He doesn't give up on us either, when we inevitably do. That's where mercy and grace come into the picture. That's where God reaches down and picks us up. He isn't out to get us. On the cross... He got us. And all He wants to do now is love the hell out of us. His arms were open wide on the cross, wrapping all of humanity in a loving embrace. Showing us the power of love, not by fighting, but by surrendering. And in surrendering... winning the war to end all wars. You win the war to end all wars when you STOP FIGHTING. The only fight left that really matters is the good fight of faith. Laying hold of eternal life. Receiving (by releasing) and releasing (by receiving) the love of God. Trusting the Holy Spirit--our love receptor, the Spirit of truth--to lead and guide us into all truth. The truth that God loves us... and there is nothing we can do about it. Love is strong enough that NOTHING can separate you from it. Nothing. So we can trust that love. We can trust God because He has proven (and continues to prove) Himself trustworthy. We have faith in Him because He has proven (and continues to prove) Himself faithful. The power of love is that it CAN do anything, but it won't. It only does what is for your good. Whether you can see that, or understand it in the moment, or not. It's all in HIS perfect timing. Which, by the way, is the next Rant series I'm going to do!