White Flag part 4
You can't win by fighting. But that's ok, because Jesus already surrendered. And by surrendering... Jesus already won. I really think we're missing out on the whole concept of rest. I think at the most we have this idea: "If I work hard enough, for long enough, I can finish the work and then I can rest." That's kind of the world's system in a nutshell, isn't it? Work hard, save your money, then you can retire. But I truly believe we were created for more than that. I think Jesus came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He came, He saw, He conquered. And because we were in Him when He conquered, we are MORE than conquerors. Because HE finished the work, we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. And the fruit of His labor is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. He did everything He did out of love. Because of love. He did everything He did because He IS love. And because He first loved us... we can love Him. We can love Him by loving each other. We don't have to fight anymore. There's no longer one nation identified as "God's people." He grafted us all in. Drew a circle around all of humanity. Drew us ALL into Himself. Reconcilied us. Planted Himself in us, so that when He died, we might die. So that when He rose again, WE might rise again. To walk in newness of life. To experience His life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. This isn't a fight. This is what happened BECAUSE of the fight. The war to end all wars. Look at Zechariah 9:15-16 in the Message Bible, and take a look at the RESULT. "God-of-the-Angel-Armies will protect them-- all-out war, The war to end all wars, no holds barred. Their GOD will save the day. He'll resuce them. They'll become like sheep, gentle and soft, Or like gemstones in a crown, catching all the colors of the sun." See, we think because Jesus overcame we have been empowered to overcome. But that's not it at all. In truth, Jesus overcame so THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO OVERCOME! He won the war to END all wars. Which means there are no more wars to fight. He defeated all our enemies. Which means there are no more enemies to fight. Even in the book of Revelation when it talks about the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony... the Bible doesn't say that's how we overcome. It says that's how we OVERCAME. Past tense. Because it is finished. Jesus took the world's best shot. He laid His life down. So that He could take it back up. To show us that death doesn't have the final say. GOD has the final say. He is the Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End. And everything in between. We don't work really hard and then rest. Trying to finish in the flesh what was started in the Spirit is foolish. Jesus did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. Now we don't need to fight anymore. We're like sheep. Gentle and soft. Gemstones in the crown of the King of kings. We catch all the colors of the sun. We experience the Son in every dimension. Every day in every way. We fight the good fight of faith, yes. But only to LAY HOLD of what we've already been given. To believe what we know. And by believing, to EXPERIENCE the gift we've been given. And guys, the best way to experience something is to share it with the people around you. Not to fight with them, but to wave the white flag. To let them be who they are even as we be who we are. To love others as we are loved by Jesus. To love Him back by loving those we come into contact with!