Upward and Godward part 3
What you see is what you be. What you magnify is what will manifest in your life. That's why it's so important to set your affection on things above. And, as we saw yesterday, that doesn't necessarily mean things up in the sky. It means things of upmost importance. And, believe me, there is nothing more important than love. When we magnify love in our lives, it will manifest in our lives. When we see love... we will be love. Remember, we ARE the Son(s) of God. We're just not completely sure what that MEANS. That's what the maturation process is. That's what it means to come into the unity of faith and the knowledge of the perfect man--Jesus. When He appears (to us, and in us, and through us, and as us), when we see Him as He is... we will BE like Him. Because we are ALREADY like Him. This idea of moving upward and Godward isn't about becoming something (someONE) we're not. It's about understanding who we REALLY ARE. Who we are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in us. That's the mystery--Christ in you the hope of glory--and because of the cross... because of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth that leads and guides us into all truth)... the mystery has been revealed. Christ IN you coming out THROUGH you. LOVE in you coming out through you. Because that's who God is. That's who JESUS is; God in the flesh. Love in body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. It's not about making others look smaller so you can make yourself look bigger. It's about filling yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. It's about knowing and believing the love of Christ. Receiving it and releasing it. It's about seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God. Not in the sense of trying to find something we don't have, but in the sense of exploring what we DO have. Look at Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." We seem to focus a lot on the idea of, "Speak life." And rightly so. There is power in the tongue. Confession--what you say--is important. But it has to start somewhere. A witness tells others what he has experienced. The good report. The gospel. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. The Word about Jesus. The Word that is love. So I'm not telling you to try to conjure up some "good things" to think about, or focus on. I'm telling you there ARE good things to think about and focus on. I have a friend that, every day they write down one good thing that happened that day. Or one thing they are thankful for. And they put all of those things in a jar. Then, at the end of the year, they go back and read them. Or if they're having a rough day they'll pull one out and look at it. Just as a little reminder that things are NOT bad and getting worse. And even if you're going through a struggle... remember, it came to pass not to stay. "This too shall pass." What we need to do is shift our focus OFF of the negative and ONTO all of those good things. We need to SET our affection. We need to purposefully think on the "good stuff." Because what you feed is what grows. You can dig a hole if you want to, and a lot of people spend a lot of time and energy doing just that. OR you can go upward and Godward!