The Three L's part 8
Living in the light of God's love. That's why we were created. That's what it means to experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love by letting Him live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. It's all about letting what's inside come out... by knowing and believing that it's in there. By filling ourselves to overflowing with what we have been filled with. Look at Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." The Word of God is Jesus. The Word of God is love. That's all He's ever said. That's what He said when He said, "Let there be light." His life is the light of men. His love is the life of men. So when we're letting love light our path... when we're letting love lead us, guide us, direct us, and protect us... that's when we can be assured that we're walking by faith and not by sight. The just shall LIVE by faith! Faith in God. Faith in love. And the reason we can have faith in God is because He has, and is, and will, prove Himself faithful. Faith isn't a blind leap. Into the dark or the light. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). A couple of things here: First off, NOW faith is. If it isn't now, it isn't faith. Faith and hope are two different things. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for. Faith is when you GET what you hoped for. But that can be tricky when you're hoping for the wrong thing. What you believe is what manifests in your life... as far as the choice you make to either believe the lie of the world or the report of the Lord. You can't just make things up and say you "believe" in them. That's wishful thinking. Which is different than faith AND hope. Our blessed hope is really a blessed assurance. Believing God. Letting God be true and all men be liars. And when you know the truth... the truth you know sets you free and makes you free. When you know the truth... you can ignore the lie. You don't have to fight it, or mess with it in any way. You can simply ignore it. Don't give it the time of day. You can be in the light as HE is in the light. You can stay on that straight and narrow path that leads to life, because His Word (again, Jesus... love) is leading you and guiding you. And when you turn to the left or the right there's a voice behind you (the Finished Work of the cross) redirecting you. Chastening and correcting you. And that's not a bad thing, that's a great thing. Someone who loves you unconditionally helping you stay right where you need to be. Keeping you in the light by keeping you in the truth that the light is in you. That the light IS you. Because the light is love. And love is not just what you do... love is who you are. Love is life. To live is to love and to love is to live. You can't do one without the other and you can't have one without the other. They aren't just connected. They are the same thing. Light... life... love. The building block(s) of an abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. When we understand those three things--that God is those three things, and has made us those three things--we can stop trying to be someone we're not in order to get something we think we haven't got... and we can begin to enjoy the gift we've been given. The gift of God. Which is His life. Which we experience and enjoy by letting Him live in us, and through us, and as us. We can live in the light of love. We can live a life of love. Not doing things that need to be hidden, but doing things that people can see, and share in, and enjoy with us! This life is to be shared. This life is to be given away. The greatest love you can have is to lay your life down for your friends. To give what you've got. To let your light shine as you let your love shine!