people in the world for the most part are not thinking about heaven....
they are thinking about where they are right now...
actually so are believers for the most part.
how will I pay my bills, what should I do about my job, can I get a job, how do I feed my children, what is going to happen with the war(s), will a tornado or tsunami or earthquake destroy everything I own and care about, will someone love me, will my children grow up to be happy, what do people think of me, am I good enough.... etc. etc. etc.
so what is it that people long for?
the answer is that people universally long to be loved, accepted, and secure.
no one is capable of giving that to anyone else. No person can give us any of that.
people are flawed, incapable of totally loving one another, incapable of total acceptance, and no one is in control.
So what then? Dispaire?
No
God is the only one that can meet these desires.
He is the only one..
But how we have destorted His words....
We’re all searching and longing to have this freedom healing and peace – here and now in this life...
so why, why, why, do we persist to try and cram heaven and religion down everyone's throats?
most people see it as irrelevant at best.
and if by one's circumstances in life, through being born into a 'good' family, place, or situation, one finds themselves feeling fairly well loved, accepted, and secure.
There still comes a desire to seek for more. (often not a conscious thought)
even when it seems that life has provided these deepest needs, we all know deep down in side that there is more.
what we experience here and now is not enough.
and so the superficial searches for fulfillment, or distraction from the pain of not having it.
some learn the lessons of desire unfulfilled by what is offered, sex, drugs, money, food, etc. etc. etc.
and then comes the true depth of despair for the realization sets in that there is nothing in this life cannot fulfill us.
some seek religion and for a time are convinced that in the acts of giving and sacrificing and serving that fulfillment can be attained.
not so.
no more so than any other route. (although we may attain a bit of recognition from others)
but to make matters worse this path is the most insidious because of the undercurrent of doubt in one's self only heaps guilt and anguish on top of the feeling that he can never be good enough.
we know this. we know this. we come to the end of our strength and simply give up or drowned ourselves in working hard to earn what we can never earn.
and those who have gone down this path discover the futility of such a life. (or they have simply decided that to live this way is enough, and settle here)
certainly there is satisfaction in service.
one can talk themselves into believing that these acts are significant, but only to a limited extent.
but then the crash, or then the rebellion, self loathing, anger, frustration.
what then?
what then indeed.
well we must go back to Truth and see that it is not in the acts but in the heart that it can be found.
knowing Christ and His love for us - believing in our hearts - trusting that His love is indeed for me.
and when we have given Him our hearts, He takes them.
we can trust that the replacement of His heart for the one we give Him, is true. it will lead us
two rules. Love and love.
That’s what it boils down to.
And now I’m thinking of it a bit differently...
Love God
Love others
Love (the first one) is the one where we let it in – to love God is to believe He loves us. It’s accepting this as truth.
And love (the second one) is to love others in return for the first love, which is an outflow, a response to accepting His love for us.
love DOES come from the heart.
it comes from the heart of Christ who resides within us.
we’ve had enough rules and good deeds to last a lifetime, enough already.
the Bible is NOT a ‘how to’ manual for life, as some have said.
it’s a history – story of Him who loves us, a testimony to this, and to the extent of which He will go for us to take this gift.
we can see principals and we can see all kinds of rules.
but if we really read the story we find that they tell us that No One is capable of following the rules well enough to get that love acceptance and security that we desire.
so enough already.
I will NOT be a Pharisee.
Whatever happens in life, whatever circumstances that occur, whatever actions we choose to take; if it does not come from love it is useless and empty.
And by the same token, if we are secure in the love of Christ, none of what life has thrown at us makes any difference whatsoever.
A life of bounty or need lived from the security of knowing the love of God through Christ who lives within us, is peace joy and contentment. Period.
And the rest of the ‘stuff’ falls away; anxiety, OCD, overeating, rebellion, lies, procrastination, impatience, frustration, etc.
And voila what do we have? Why, it’s the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Everything that comes out of a HEART of love (Christ living in us) is good.
It’s not made up, it’s not pretend, it’s not forced, it’s not frustrating.
And whatever circumstances, though not any different from before, do not cause this to change.
It simply cannot change, because the heart is central and living from the heart makes all of the rest of that stuff inconsequential.
We’ve gotten this all inside-out – again.
We CANNOT live the life to get the heart!
We must have the heart to live the life.
We must know His love, trust it, and follow it, as it resides within us.
And the good news is that the heart offered to us, to replace our own, is Christ – the perfect demonstration of love.
Free. – For the price of trusting that it is true.
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