Three P's part 4
Priority. What you DO about what you see and how you see it. The culmination. The fullness. Because faith without works is dead, right? All of this thinking, and discussing, and meditating about stuff doesn't really mean a whole lot until you put your money where your mouth is. Love is love but CHARITY is love in ACTION. And that HAS to be our priority. When we see things clearly--because the light of the world is shining--and when we see things from the right perspective--we are all connected and we are all One--then we can start to do. We don't do in order to be. But we do BECAUSE we be. We don't love in order to get. Love is giving. We love because we have. We love because we are. It seems like love is constantly misunderstood. People are always looking for our motvies when we love. But love doesn't HAVE a motive. Love IS the motive. Love IS the priority. Understanding leads to acceptance. And acceptance leads to love. You can't love something (someone) you don't accept. And you can't accept something (someone) you don't understand. In the same way faith and hope lead to love. In the same way perception and perspective lead to priority. I can't tell you how frustrating it can be--if I let it--for some of the things I see that people get so fired up about. I'm constantly asking myself the question, "What in the world are we talking about?" Does it matter? And by "matter" I mean, a year from now. A month from now. Even a week from now. Does it matter in the big picture? In the grand scheme? Are you seeing it correctly? From the right point of view? (And I'm not saying my point of view is right and yours is wrong. I'm saying LOVE is the right point of view.) If you start with love you'll end with love. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. And He's everything in between. But we have to be open to it--love, Him--in order to experience it. In order to manifest it. In order for what's inside to get out. Let me quote a verse that I preached last night: Ephesians 4:3, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Key in on that word, "endeavouring." Working. Faith without works. Get it? What you do matters. I know I always preach that it's not what you do, but what you believe. And that's true... because what you do flows from what you believe. But actions have consequences. They matter. What you give your Three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) to makes a difference. Because that's where your priority lies. Let me simplify this. This is what I tell my four year old son, "If you want to HAVE a friend, you have to BE a friend." If you want to "feel" love... the best way to do it is to GIVE love. What you magnify is what manifests in your life. What you give yourself to is, in a sense, your master. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit means bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Sharing what we've been given. Loving each other. Making love the only priority. Seeing love everywhere. Seeing from the perspective of love. And putting that love into action. Priority is what goes at the top of the list. The TO DO list. Not just ideas and words... but the Word made flesh. Letting what's inside come out naturally because it's too big, too good, and too glorious to keep inside! Letting love be the ONLY priority...