Trick or Treat part 3
This, to me, is the goal. I always talk about how love is the whole point of the whole thing, right? But what does that look like? "You can develope a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor" (James 3:18 MSG). There's a lot here. But we see that word "dignity" again, first things first. Treating people with dignity. Finding a baseline level of treating people... like people. Of letting people be who they are, and loving them for who they are. I think that's something that gets lost a lot of the time. Like we immediately judge people from our own perspective. And if they line up with us--with our way of thinking, or our beliefs--then we can love them. But love is unconditional. There are no hoops to jump through in order to receive love. Well, let me rephrase that: There are no hoops to jump through in order to receive love from our heavenly Father. And, as such, there shouldn't be any hoops to jump through in order to give and receive love from each other. Love is not earned. It is freely received and freely given. But what I like about our verse in James is that it puts it right out there: You enjoy the results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other. You reap what you sow, right? And, again, as always, I'm not talking about earning things from our heavenly Father. He gave us everything He had when He gave us His only begotten Son, so that we might not perish but have everlasting life. When He gave His life for us--and gave it TO us--He gave us everything. Everything He has and everything He is. Everything we could or would or will ever need. He wanted the best for us, so He gave the best to us. That's not what we need anymore. It's what we have. What's important now is what we do with what we have. We have been equipped and empowered to love each other. To obey the New Commandment that says we are to love one another as Jesus loves us. Now we have to actually put the work in and do it. Rest is not inactivity. It is Holy Spirit directed activity. And the Holy Spirit always (only) directs us to love. Love is not inactivity. Love is maximum effort. Giving everything you have and everything you are. Laying your life down for your friends. Loving people no matter what. The goal is a healthy, robust community, right? Those relationships, and bonds, and connections that I'm always going on about. Well, if it's worth doing... it's worth doing right. Putting the hard work in. And, by putting the hard work in... getting to a place where it's not always so hard. Exercising those muscles so that they get stronger. Sometimes you have to force yourself to be nice to people. But to me, that's not being fake. That's being mature. That's loving people even when you don't "feel" like it. Loving people unconditionally. Putting in the maximum effort of love to give people what they need, instead of always expecting them to have, or give you, what you need. Putting others first IS hard work. But it's so worth it. Because it is more blessed to give than to receive. If you want to feel love... love somebody! Treat them with kindness, and respect, and honor, and dignity!