Worthy part 4
Love. Its the desire of our heart. Its the thing that we want--that we NEED--more than anything else in order to truly live. Because I understand we need food, and clothing, and shelter in order to "survive." But what have you got if you don't have love? The kind that you just want to give away? Its that being filled to overflowing experience that IS true life. The eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life of God. Its receiving and releasing the love of God by knowing and believing that He loves us. By USING the mind of Christ (that's already in us). Letting what's already there BE there. Not chasing something we think we haven't got, but experiencing what we have got by sharing it. That's what this life is for. We were created to be loved by God, and to love one another with that same love. And if that's why we were created, that means--by definition--we are worthy of it. What kind of creator would create something that wasn't worthy of its purpose? Where we get lost and twisted around sometimes is when we try to earn something that can't be earned. Because if you're trying to earn it, that means you believe you don't have it. And the main reason that I think people believe they don't have love is because they believe they are not worthy of love. They think all of the "bad" stuff they've done has disqualified them from being able to BE loved. "I'm too difficult." "I've messed up too bad. Or too many times." Those are the lies the world tells us, and we swallow them whole. Because to the carnal mind... you get what you deserve. That's what "makes sense." If I'm good, I'll be rewarded. If I'm bad, I'll be punished. My actions dictate what happens to me. And under the Old Covenant (to some degree) that's how it was. I mean, God DID put the entire system of animal sacrifice in place as a type and shadow of Jesus so that the people of Israel wouldn't get what they deserved. But then He took it even a step further when He introduced mercy and grace to the scene. Mercy is when you DON'T get what you deserve, and grace is when you get what you don't deserve. And both are personality traits of the God who is love. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love doesn't keep a record of right and wrong. Love doesn't discriminate. On the cross it was very literally ONE for ALL. When Jesus was raised up from the earth He drew ALL men into Himself. What He did... my mom always says, "Either the cross changed EVERYTHING or it didn't change ANYTHING." When Jesus remade the world in His image He did it FOR everybody and He did it AS everybody. No longer is there a "chosen people." God chose ALL people. That's what Romans chapter 11 is talking about with the grafting in of the branch. Paul brought the Gospel specifically to the Gentiles. He made it clear that this thing that Jesus did was for everybody. That everybody was worthy of love. That everybody could fill that God-shaped, love-shaped void inside of them. As long as they knew what to fill it with. And I'm telling you, the only thing that can fill a God-shaped, love-shaped void... is the God who is love. That's what He did when He drew us all into Himself. When He planted Himself in all of us. When He took up abode in us He equipped and empowered us to take up abode in Him!