Together part 2
"His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem" (Song of Solomon 5:15). Jesus, our beloved, is altogether lovely. But here's the revelation God gave me about this verse: He is altogether lovely... and He is lovely all together. It takes all of us to make up His lovely body. Together. And look at what our verse said, "This is my friend." When we truly begin to understand this connection of love--when we truly begin to understand that love is what binds us and holds us together--then we can be friends with any and everybody. I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said, "I destroy my enemies by making them my friends." And look at the beginning of our verse: "His mouth is most sweet." Whoever said, "Stick and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me" obviously didn't know what he was talking about. Ecclesiastes 8:4 tells us, "Where the word of a king is, there is power..." And Proverbs 18:21 defines this power, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue..." What you say DOES matter. It CAN hurt people. And it can also heal people. Proverbs 15:1 in the Amplified says, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger." So a sweet mouth, full of soft words, is a really good way to make friends. A really good way to connect. A really good way to get--and stay--together. I'm really kind of sick and tired of theological arguments. As if one person is completely right and the other is completely wrong. Come on guys. God is bigger--LOVE is bigger--than what you've been able to figure out. (Or what I've been able to figure out.) Figuring it out isn't even really the point. Letting God--letting LOVE--reveal Himself to you and in you and through you and as you is the point. And watch this: If I have a piece, and you have a piece... and instead of fighting about which piece is right we instead SHARE our pieces... now you've got a bigger piece and so do I! Now we are starting to become lovely... all together. Love doesn't build walls, it knocks them down. Love doesn't break things apart, it puts them together. Love doesn't put a hard yoke or a heavy burden on us, it offers us an easy yoke and a light burden! And here's the key to the yoke of Jesus being easy and the burden being light: It's easy and light because JESUS is the One carrying it! Even as He carries us! As He holds us up and keeps us from falling. As HE keeps our words soft and sweet because He IS the Word! The (single) Word of God is LOVE! And when love is on our lips... I'm telling you, it's hard to be mad at someone who is showing you nothing but love. It's hard to stay seperated from that kind of love. That kind of love... binds us together. Holds us together. Keeps us together. All together!