The Ride part 5
If you enjoy the ride then it doesn't feel like a never-ending journey. It doesn't feel like a struggle to get somewhere. If you enjoy the ride then you understand that we have already arrived at the finish line. The journey isn't about getting anywhere. It's about discovering where we are. And who we are. And why we're here. It's about the mystery--Christ in you the hope of glory--being revealed. And that's the best part about this ride we're on--it's not something WE do. It's something Jesus already did. And we don't have to "figure Him out." He reveals Himself to us. By revealing Himself in us, and through us, and as us. He reveals Himself every time we love one another. Every time the Word becomes flesh. Every time love becomes charity (love in action). And, believe it or not, that's HOW we enjoy the ride. By turning our focus off our ourselves and onto others. If you're always chasing it (it being love, of course) you're never going to find it. The stick will always move the carrot just out of reach. You can't find it unless you go to the source. And if you're looking for love in all the wrong places you're setting yourself up for failure. You're robbing yourself of what you've already been given. See, it's not about "getting." It's about giving. Because love IS giving. And every time you love someone you're stepping out in faith. Because you can't give what you don't have. So if you love someone, on some level you believe that you are loved. And faith is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it grows. You take a baby step--like Peter when Jesus was walking on the water--and you see that God DOES in fact have your back. And that gives you the confidence to take another step. And another, and another, until you're running and jumping and dancing. Until you're walking in newness of life. But keep it clear in your mind--the mind of Christ--what we're talking about. Love. You take a baby step of love. You let God's perfect love cast out all fear and you love someone with no expectations. You don't love in order to get something. You love because you have something. Something that's not too good to be true, but something that's so good it MUST be true. In fact, it's the Truth! And the Way, and the Life! It's your nature. Your true identity. And through the Holy Spirit--our love receptor--we can go straight to the source and receive it (and release it). We can stop looking for it in all the wrong places. We can stop trying to make this life "what it's supposed to be" and we can let it be what it is. We can let it be abundant. We can let it be glorious. We can enjoy it! God had a plan for all mankind. And He accomplished that plan on the cross. It is finished. So instead of US trying to finish it... we can rest. We can enjoy the fruit of HIS labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. We can truly live, because we ARE loved, and because we CAN love. There's nothing more important, or more real, than love. WIthout it, we abide in death. With it, we live. It's all about love!