Trust part 5
I've been mentioning this verse for a while, might as well quote it and dive into it, eh? "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged" (Romans 3:3-4). Kind of clunky, to be honest with you. Good old King James. Let's read it in the Message Bible: "So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn't faze you." In other words, you can trust God because not only does He TELL the truth... He IS the truth. LOVE is the truth! Let me get one more memory verse in here: Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." He is unchanging. Unrelenting. He loves us no matter what. Every second of every day. No matter what we do, or don't do. Because love is unconditional. Paul wrote about how nothing--NOTHING--can separate us from the love of God. God's love--Jesus--lives in us. When God moved into the neighborhood (on the cross, when He drew us all into Himself and planted Himself in us all) He put down roots. He moved in and He isn't moving out. He will never leave us nor forsake us. I heard one preacher say it like this, "God is a stalker!" He doesn't give up on people. No matter what. And, to be honest, I'm pretty sure He likes underdogs. He likes to take people who don't want the spotlight and raise them up. Because its people who don't want the spotlight that are more ready, willing, and able to trust Him. And I'm telling you, God is less concerned with your ability than He is with you AVAILABILITY. "Here am I, Lord, send me," right? If you trust Him, and are willing to obey Him, HE will do what He required in you, and through you, and as you. HE will bring it to pass. LOVE will bring it to pass. Because that's His New Commandment for His New Man. His ONE New Commandment. And, yes, loving others as Jesus loves you comes in many shapes and sizes. That's the point. To live is to love and to love is to live, right? So His commandment is for us to LIVE. To live His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love by letting HIM live it (again) in us, and through us, and as us. Letting Him LOVE in us, and through us, and as us. We don't need to worry about what other people say or do. We can love them anyway. Because God keeps His Word no matter what. And His Word is love. Its the only Word He has ever needed. Let there be light. Let there be love. And once love was introduced into the scene--once the light of the world shined on us, and in us, and through us--that's when things were revealed to be in Divine Order. And here's the order: We love because He first loved us. He fills us up with His love and then we fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. Let every man be a liar. Doesn't matter. Because God (LOVE) is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! Don't let rejection faze you. Let love consume you!