What Manner part 2
Its all about love. Really, it is. The God who IS love created us in order to express His love in us, and through us, and as us. That's why we're here. That's the whole point of the whole thing. And, as disciples of Christ--students of love--we learn how to love as we learn how we are loved. Look at our key verse for this Rant series again, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not" (1 John 3:1). And the word I want to focus on today is "behold." It is number 1492 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "properly to see (literally or figuratively); by implication (in the perfect only) to know: - be aware, consider, look on, perceive, be sure, tell, understand." Basically... seeing is believing. Faith is not a blind leap in the dark. Or a blind leap in the light. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. Like, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). The wind blows where it will, and we see the evidence of it. God loves us, and we see the evidence of it. Love comes in many shapes and forms. All of the different "fruits" of the Spirit are really the ONE FRUIT of the Spirit. Love. There's only one Tree of Life. Only one fruit that comes from that tree. But it comes how it will. And sometimes we miss it. Because sometimes we're looking for something... and what shows up doesn't fit into our box. So, like the man said, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us." Look at it. But don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm not saying, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." But I AM saying keep your heart open. Don't rob yourself of what's available to you by throwing it over for something that's not available. Don't try to earn something that can't be earned and miss out on what you've been given. Be aware of love. In every situation. Because God is everywhere, right? And God is love. So love is everywhere. Look on it. Look FOR it. Perceive it. Consider it. Didn't Joseph say, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20)? Every cloud has a silver lining. And the rainbow can't come until after the rain. What you look for is what you will find. What's inside is what will come out. Or, more accurately, what you BELIEVE is inside will come out. What you see is what you be. Seeing is believing. That why the next verse in 1 John talks (which we will get to again) Jesus appearing. Because when we SEE Him we will be like Him, because we will know who He is. Who we are. Who we are in Christ, which is who Christ is in us. Behold what manner of love. Look at the cross. The sacrifice that was made. God literally saying He would rather die than be without us. Laying His life down so that He could pick it back up and experience it--experience LOVE--in us, and through us, and as us. When you see that kind of love... you can't help but be changed by it. Changed INTO it. Transformed into that new creature. That new creation. That New Man who IS Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body! Take a look and be what you see!