Upward and Godward part 5
I started this Rant series with the idea of setting our affection on things above and not on the earth. And I wanted us to think about "above" as higher, not necessarily physically, but of higher importance. And then we saw that the way to do that is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. To stop trying to GET something and start exploring what we've GOT. Testing the height, and length, and depth, and breadth of God's love for us. Which, of course, means to receive and release God's love for us. That's how you test it; you love others as He loves you. You love bigger than you ever thought possible. And that's when you find yourself in a "higher" position. Because as He is, so are we in this world. And as He is is seated at the right hand of the Father. Seated, in a posture of rest, at the right hand, which is the position of power. Our power flows from rest. Not from trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole. Not from running around like chickens with our heads cut off looking for love in all the wrong places. I think what I'm trying to say is this: God is all-powerful, right? Which doesn't mean MOST powerful. It means God has ALL of the power. And God is love, right? So LOVE is all-powerful. When we heap burning coals onto our enemies heads, what we are really doing is melting their hearts. Killing them with kindness. Destroying our enemies by making them our friends. Until we truly understand what it means to all be parts of the same body. Different parts, certainly, but that's ok. That's important. Because if we all only do the one same thing, a lot of things aren't going to get done. The first thing I realized when I lived by myself for the first time is that if you don't do it... it's probably not going to get done. And when we're talking about this collective ONE new man there are things that I can do that you can't. And things that you can do that I can't. So do what you can do. Don't try to be someone you're not. Upward and Godward is not about fitting into a religious box or being a "Christian robot." We are all unique. On purpose. Upward and Godward is really inward and love-ward. Up is in. God is love. We have everything we need inside of us. And when we know that, and believe that--when we let the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, lead and guide us into all truth--that's when what's inside comes out naturally. That's when love stops being just what we do (or try and fail to do) but it becomes who we are. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And then, through the cross, the Word took up abode WITHIN us. He's already in there. We're already complete in Him. We don't need to become "better" Christians by trying really hard to obey an unkeepable set of rules. We simply need to know Him as He truly is. Because in that way we will know ourselves as we truly are. And when we know ourselves as we know Him--as we are KNOWN by Him--we will stop trying to be someone else. We will be able to rest. We will find that we "go" upward and Godward by being still and knowing that He is God. Knowing that God is love. And letting God love us so much that we can't do anything else but love Him back by loving each other. That's when our Divine Nature will allow us to be who we are. Our Divine Nature will allow God to express Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us. LOVE will express Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us!