Good things take effort. And they take time. Rome wasn't built in a day, right? And this seems like a good time to point out that rest is NOT inactivity. Rest is not being a Spiritual couch potato. Rest is not doing nothing because you're waiting for God to do something. If you're waiting for a move of God... guys... God moved 2,000 years ago on the cross. Jesus did the work SO THAT we can rest. Now we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. His labor of love. Which produced the fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. Jesus gave maximum effort on the cross. And now, because of HIS effort, we CAN put in that same effort BY resting. By letting Jesus live HIS abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life in us, and through us, and as us. Remember the New Commandment? Love one another AS Jesus has loved you. Receive it and release it. Let God love the hell out of you, and then turn around and love the hell out of the people you come into contact with. And, quite honestly, sometimes the receiving it takes more effort than the releasing it. Because a lot of times we seem to be able to--quite easily--talk ourselves out of the gift of God. We know all the "bad" stuff we've done--because we were right there doing it--and we disqualify ourselves. We think we're not good enough to be loved. And so we settle for less than. We look for love in all the wrong places, and we decide we'd rather have SOMETHING than nothing at all. In my experience nothing is better than the wrong thing. But the right thing is best of all. So when you're trying to decide if the juice is worth the squeeze... if you're trying to decide whether its worth it to spend your three t's (time, talent, and treasure)... you have to count the cost. And you can't be impatient. Because, like I said, good things take time. When I started my job working with children with autism I was paired up with one kindergarten boy quite a bit. And he was immediately my favorite because he was the only one who walks as slowly as I do. But that boy was HARD to move from one thing to the next. Transitions, we call it. He was not a fan of transitions. But it was my job to make sure he was where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there. And my mom's words of wisdom were stuck in my head (my heart). She told me, "If they like you... they'll listen to you." So what I did was, for like the first two weeks of my job, I just played with him. I joked around with him. Read books to him. Built a relationship. And, of course, we struggled every time it was time to transition. But, slowly but surely, he started to trust me. To the point that by the end of the year all I had to do was say his name and he would follow me without question. It took a lot of effort. And it didn't come quickly, or easily, but the effort I put into it was love. I didn't bang my head against the wall trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole. I used my effort to build something. I think its easy to tear things down. To tear ourselves down. But when you train up a child in the way he SHOULD go... when you BUILD something... when you pour yourself into PEOPLE... I think that's where the effort is most effective. Most powerful. Love.

I know people have different love languages. And since this one is mine, I feel somewhat qualified to Rant about it. But having said that, I think when you spend your three t's (time, talent, treasure) on someone... when you make an effort... it says a lot. Actions speak louder than words, right? Because people can say whatever they want to say, but when the rubber meets the road that's when you can really see what's what. When you put your money where your mouth is, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Which, by the way, is exactly what Jesus did. In John 15:13 (NLT) Jesus said, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." He TOLD us what love was all about. But He didn't leave it at that. He went to the cross and literally laid His life down for us. He SHOWED us what love is. And by giving His life for us (and to us) He equipped and enabled us to love each other in that same manner. The effort He gave--the work He finished--allows us receive and release that love. Because we AREN'T trying to finish the work. We are resting in His loving arms. We are enjoying the fruit of HIS labor. Which is the fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. I started this Rant series by mentioning a previous one called, "Maximum Effort." And in that series I wasn't trying to say you have to wear yourself slap out in order to love people. I wasn't trying to say you should ever get in over your head or put yourself in a bad position. I was simply trying to say that love IS the maximum effort. Giving someone (or something) everything you are and everything you have is literally all you can do. And its either enough... or its not. I think a lot of times familiarity really does breed contempt. We take people for granted and the things that we thought were cool (or at least tolerable) start to get on our nerves. That's when its even more important to give that effort. To decide if the juice is worth the squeeze. To decide if its worth it. (Spoiler alert: People are always worth the effort.) And here's where it gets good... when it comes to relationships you don't have to do it all on your own. When it comes to relationships you do what you can do, and they do what they can do, and together it all gets done. Its not that black hole feeling of giving and giving and giving until you've got nothing left to give. Its love feeding on itself and growing and growing. I think some of the best relationships are the ones where instead of comparing who brings what to the table... you simply decide to SHARE the table. That's what receiving and releasing the gift of God is all about: Giving what you've got to those who need it even as the other people in your life give what they've got. Sharing is caring, right? A little effort goes a long way. I think its so powerful when you hit someone up to ask how they're doing. Because, to me, that shows that you were thinking about them. And if you ask someone how they're doing on a day when they think nobody cares about them... you may have literally just saved a life. A little thing, from your opinion, that meant EVERYTHING to someone else. So I guess what I'm trying to say today is: Put in the effort. Because its worth it. Even if it doesn't go exactly how you hope it will... you did what YOU could do. You acted out of thoughtfulness and kindness. You put love out into the world. And that's what we were created to do: Be loved, and love each other with that same love!

I think I mentioned this thought yesterday, but it came from a picture I once saw of a couple who had been married for some like fifty years or something. And when they were asked what their secret was they said, "For us, when something broke, you didn't throw it away. You fixed it." And that's kind of what I'm trying to say with this Rant series: effort is so important. In a way its like time... once you spend it you can't get it back. But that's why--and this is my thought for today--its so important to understand WHERE this effort comes from. And, in a word, it comes from the heart. If you're going to love something (or someone) that means you're going to give it everything you have and everything you are. Which CAN make you feel empty, if you don't feel like you're getting anything back. Its like pouring yourself into a black hole. And that can be frustrating. That can make you want to give up. If it feels like you've given everything you've got... then you get to a place where you think you can't give anymore. So let me just go ahead and quote my main verse for today: "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other" (John 13:34 NLT). I love this verse. Its one of my favorites. Because it spells it all out for us. The New Man is not under the Old Covenant. He is in the New Covenant. And He has a new commandment. One that, you know, he can actually follow. Because Jesus told us WHAT to do, but He also told us HOW to do it. Love one another. As He has loved us. Receive it and release it. Its that simple. (And notice, I didn't say EASY, I said simple. Learning how to love, by learning how we are loved, is an never-ending eternal life-long journey.) Point being: We don't love in order to BE loved. We love because we ARE loved. We love Him (by loving each other) because He first loved us. It flows down from the Father of lights, through us, and out into the world. So when we're talking about putting effort into something... we don't give in order to get. We give because we already have. I always like to quote 1 Samuel 30:6 (another one of my favorites) that says, "...but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." When you feel like you're empty... you need to look INSIDE instead of looking for something external, or outward. Like on the Wizard of Oz. What you're looking for is what you've had all along. You were just looking in the wrong spot. Looking for love in all the wrong places. Looking for outer strength instead of inner strength. Giving effort doesn't mean its gone. Even if it doesn't accomplish what YOU want it to do (guess what, you might not REALLY want what you think you want. You might just be caught up in the moment), I don't believe effort is ever really wasted. Its the thought that counts, right? Things don't always work out the way we think they should. But when you give someone effort, I think that's appreciated. Even if THAT specific person doesn't pick up what you're laying down... I think people can see what's what a lot of the time. If you're willing to put the effort into something... to love others as Jesus loves you, and not necessarily how THEY love you... I think that's real. And I think that's important.

Effort when things are good, to let someone know you care, is--in my humble opinion--one of the best ways to express love. But effort when things aren't so good... that can be even more important. Because, as my pastor always says, sometimes if you go down swinging you might not go down at all. And you guys know that I prefer to avoid confrontation a lot of the time. I don't argue with people. I don't try to convince people that I'm right and they're wrong. I pretty much go along to get along a lot of the time. But there ARE some things worth fighting for. And notice I said fighting FOR not fighting AGAINST. I think we spend entirely too much time fighting against things. I don't really like this idea of a "Christian soldier" who is always trying to "rid the camp of sin." I don't think we're supposed to be on a sin hunt at all. I think we're supposed to be on a righteousness hunt. I don't think it helps anybody to tell them what's wrong with them. It seems to me like we--for the most part--pretty well know what's wrong with us. The world does a pretty good job of hammering those points home. So, unfortunately, when someone tells us what's RIGHT with us... it seems too good to be true. We have listened to the lie for so long that the truth doesn't even seem to make sense. We're ready to fight AGAINST stuff... or we're ready to give up. That's my point. But there ARE things worth fighting FOR. How's that old song go? You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. And I can't think of anything more worthy of standing up for, fighting for, putting effort into, than love. I think love is the most important thing there is. To the point that we literally worship it. (When we worship God, who IS love.) And I'm not a fool, I know that sometimes the juice ISN'T worth the squeeze. I think there's a limit to what we can give, and what we can do. I don't think you should ever put yourself in a bad position in order to "prove" your love to someone. Remember Peter? We talked about him yesterday. He was ready to prove his love... and ended up denying Jesus three times. Whoops! That's what happens sometimes when we're so ready to fight. We get all gung-ho and end up missing the point completely. And that's why Jesus gave Peter that chance of redemption after Jesus rose again from the dead. He told Peter HOW to love Him... by loving others. That's the New Commandment: Love one another as Jesus has loved you. And it takes effort. Because charity is love in action. Random ACTS of kindness, right? And love, by definition, is giving. I've said it many times: You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. Giving everything you are and everything you have and not worrying about what comes next. That, to me, is the limit of what we can give, and what we can do. Give it all you've got, and then its either enough... or its not. But you put the effort in. You did what you can do. And that's ALL you can do. Go the extra mile for people. Turn the other cheek. Give them what YOU have instead of just giving them back what they give you. And when things aren't great... just because something breaks doesn't mean you have to throw it away. Sometimes you can fix it. Certainly, if you love it (or them) you can TRY to fix it...

I wrote a Rant series a little while ago called "Maximum Effort." And the point that I was trying to make was that love is the maximum effort that you can give someone. Literally giving everything you are and everything you have to someone and not expecting anything in return. So starting today I want to talk about... not "minimum" effort per se, but about how oftentimes the little things ARE the big things. And sometimes a little bit of effort goes a long way. The funny thing about this truth, though, is that when you're the one GIVING the effort it doesn't seem like a big deal. But when you're the one RECEIVING the effort it seems like the most important thing in the world. This is something that I have learned even more over the last few months. My girlfriend, Amanda, completely understands that this is my "love language." I feel uncomfortable when people buy me stuff--mostly because I feel uncomfortable NEEDING someone to buy me stuff--and nice words are nice, but I'm at the place in my life where, for the most part, what people think or say about me rolls off me like water off a duck's back. But effort... if you go out of your way to do something for me... I really appreciate that. The other day at the end of the school year I completely forget if I had ordered Logan a yearbook or not. And when the yearbooks came in Amanda took HER personal, extra yearbook and went down to Logan's class in order to make sure he had one. Not a HUGE deal, right? Just a junior kindergarten yearbook that he probably won't even HAVE anymore in a few years. But that blew me away. Knocked my socks off. Because it showed me, in a very real, tangible way, that she cared about me. And I know they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but the way to THIS man's heart is ABSOLUTELY through my son. Caring about him is caring about me. Because he IS me. Which, by the way, is what I think the story about "whatever you do unto the least of them you've done unto me" is all about. What's my point? My point is that you don't have to literally move mountains to "prove" that you love someone. When Peter made the claim that he would go with Jesus all the way to the end--and, for the record, I believe he meant every word of what he was saying--Jesus let him know what was really going to happen. And it wasn't like Jesus was mad about it either. And then, after Jesus died, and was buried, and rose again, He gave Peter the chance to redeem himself by letting Peter know what it means to love Him. He told Peter HOW to love him. He told Peter to feed his sheep. To take care of people. I think seeing a need and meeting it is the biggest thing you can do sometimes. Even when it seems small. Because to the person WITH a need... its not small. Its huge. Feeding someone who is hungry might seem like an easy thing. Especially if you've already eaten. But if you HAVEN'T eaten, and somebody feeds you... that's life saving. If you're cold, and you don't have a coat, and someone gives you one... that's huge. If your kid might not have something that everyone else has, and (Oh, by the way, we weren't even dating at the time) someone makes sure he has it... that bit of effort means SO MUCH. So if you see a need, and you can meet it... I say do it. That's love.

Be the change you want to see in the world, right? Fighting fire with fire (in the traditional "eye for an eye" sense) just leaves everybody burned to the ground. You can't overcome evil with evil. You have to show people a more excellent way. And that more excellent way is THE Way (the Truth, and the Life) that is Jesus. That is love. That's what heaping fiery coals onto someone's head is REALLY all about--again, not burning them, but instead melting their hearts. Destroying your enemies by making them your friends. Killing them with kindness. Killing them all. I think on of the things we lose sight of when we're talking about giving what we've got is that what we've got was freely given to us. Look at Matthew 10:8, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." I want to focus on the receiving and the giving (or receiving and releasing, as I like to put it) but let's take a quick second to make the point that the things we are to give--the things we have received--are much more than monetary things. We get caught up a lot of times with the idea of money. And Ecclesiastes 10:19 DOES say, "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things." So I'm not saying we don't need money to live. Paul said if you don't work you don't eat. But I AM saying, in the grand scheme of things, there are more important things than money. Like raising people from the dead. Just as WE were raised from the dead. Freely we received it, freely we ought to give it. Before the cross we--all of us, the human race--were dead in our trespasses and sins. Then Jesus was raised up from the earth, and drew us all into Himself, and died. So we got a second death. He killed us all. With the kindness of His sacrifice. He gave His life FOR us, and He gave His life TO us. He died--and us in Him--so that we might live. And not just live ANY life, but live HIS life. The abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Jesus is lived by us when we let Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. In order to have a new life, we needed a new birth. And before that new birth we needed the second death. The death OF death. And now, in the same way that we have the ministry and the word of reconciliation because God was in Christ reconciling us to Himself, we now have the word (LOVE) of life. But in a very real sense, in order to GET to that word of life, we have to first identify with that second death. We have to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God. We have to receive the gift of God--eternal life--that we have already been given. And then we can share that gift. We can give it away. And when we understand that we are connected to that limitless source of life (love), we don't have to be afraid to give it away. Because when we give it away we don't lose it. We EXPERIENCE it. And when we understand how freely it was given--it cost Jesus a lot, but He didn't charge us anything--we can freely give it away. To anyone. To everyone. By tweet that started this Rant series went like this: "Kill 'em with kindness. Kill 'em all." And that's how I want to end this Rant series too. Kill 'em with kindness. Kill 'em all!

The battle is already won. Jesus did that when He went to the cross, died (taking the last enemy, death's best shot), and then rose again. So we don't need to fight anymore. Even the good fight of faith is not AGAINST anybody or anything. It is simply (notice I said "simply" not "easily") laying hold of the gift of God that we've been given. That's what faith is; not believing that something WILL happen, but believing that something HAS happened. Not trying to get God to move, but knowing and believing that He has already moved. You don't get things by "putting faith in them." Faith is understanding that you have already been given everything you need, and then sharing what you have with others. Giving what you've got. That's what love is--giving everything you have and everything you are without expecting anything in return. Because if you're giving in order to GET, that's not love. Love is never about GETTING. Because love IS giving. And you can't give what you don't have. That's why 1 John 4:19 is so important. It shows us the Divine Order of things. "We love him, because he first loved us." God loved us, and that's why we CAN love Him, by loving each other. It comes from the source. You don't love in order to be loved. You love because you ARE loved. It flows FROM God, INTO and THROUGH us, and then out into the world we live in. We are kings and priests who rule and reign on this earth. Kings and priests in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Love. Ruling and reigning IN love, and THROUGH love, and WITH love. So this idea of winning is a done deal. Remember the revelation about the ministry, or word, of reconciliation? That's what God was doing in Christ on the cross. He was reconciling us to Himself. That's not something that needs to happen. That's something that has already happened. So, in the same way, we don't need to reconcile anybody to God. He already did. All we need to do is let people know the glorious truth of what He has already done. We need to let people know that they HAVE been reconciled. Its not, "Come and get reconciled." And its CERTAINLY not, "Come and get reconciled, or else." Its, "We have BEEN reconciled. The work is finished. The gift that you were trying to earn cannot be earned. It must be received, so that it can be released." And the coolest part is that we receive it BY releasing it. We get to experience it even as we give it away. So its not lost. Never lost. We are connected to the unlimited supply. The God who is love is the vine and we are the branches. He produces the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, and we simply make it available to whosoever hungers or thirsts. That's our entire part, being a witness. Saying, "I have something amazing. And its the exact thing your heart desires. So come and get it!" We fight "fire" with "fire" by overcoming evil with good. By turning the other cheek. By heaping firey coals on people's heads. Not in order to burn them to the ground, or to hurt them, but to melt their hearts. To destroy our enemies... by making them our friends. That's how you "win" the war that is already won. You don't have to finish the work. Jesus did that for us and as us. But when you KNOW that the work is finished you can then SHARE how wonderful it is now that we've come out of the Old and into the New. We don't have to fight each other. We can simply kill each other with kindness. And in that way SHOW people who God is!

The way to win to the war... is to stop fighting. An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. We don't overcome evil with more evil. You can't fight fire with fire. Unless and until you understand what the REAL fire is. The fire that is God. The fire that is love. When we stop fighting each other and start loving each other... that's when we win. We destroy our enemies when we make them our friends. We reconcile people to God when we let them know that they are already reconciled. Not by putting religious hoops up for people to jump through, but by showing people who God is by showing people what love is. Not by trying to force Jesus down people's throats and watching them choke on Him... but by showing them a more excellent way. By showing them love. By loving them. Killing them with kindness. And yesterday I said I was going to focus on the idea of killing them ALL, so I guess I better. And, quite frankly, the best verse I can use to make my point is one of the most famous verses in the Bible: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Two things here. First, God loved THE WORLD. In the Old Testament God had His chosen people, the people of Israel. But the Apostle Paul goes to great lengths to show that while one brach of the olive tree was cut out, it was so that another might be grafted in. That's why Paul took his message to the Gentiles... because it wasn't a member's only club anymore. It was whosoever. It was the Spirit and the bride saying, "Come." And not saying, "Come... or else." But saying, "Come and get it!" Jesus prepared a table in the presence of our enemies, so that anyone--ANYONE--who hungered or thirsted could feast on the six course meal (the Six Steps to the Throne) that was the cross. Revelation 3:20 in the NLT reads, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Its an open invitation. When Jesus won the war to end all wars (getting rid of any need for any of us to fight anything except the good fight of faith) He did it FOR all of us and He did it AS all of us. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32). He was lifted up on the cross. And when He was He drew ALL MEN unto--and into--Himself. He drew us ALL out of Adam and ALL into Himself. All of humanity. You, me, and everybody. See, when Adam was humanity's representative he ate from the wrong tree--the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree of death--and on that day he surely died. Which is why before the cross we were all dead in our trespasses and sins. That was the first death. And then when Jesus drew us all into Himself and died, that was the second death. The death OF death when death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. Which, of course, since God is a consuming fire, meant that we were all drawn into Him. He killed us all with kindness so that whosoever believed (again, the good fight of faith) might not perish, but live. That's why Jesus came: That we might have life, and have it more abundantly. And what makes the abundant life abundant? LOVE. What makes it possible for us to live? Love. How can we "kill" each other with kindness and "win" the war that was already won? Love! We are loved, and that equips and empowers us to love. All of us. Can love all of us!

Only by showing people love will we be able to show them God. I think a lot of times we lose people when we get religious with them. We try to shove "Jesus" down people's throats and people choke on Him. They end up running FROM God instead of running TO Him. We turn people off, and they end up calling us things like "hyporcrites" or "judgmental." We end up alienating people when we should be killing them. With kindness. Heaping coals of fire on their heads--by loving them no matter what--and melting their hearts. If, according to Jesus, we have to be born again to enter the Kingdom. And, yes, I think in a very real way Jesus took care of this for everybody when He drew us all into Himself, and died, and was born again) then what we need first is a second death. The second death, according to Revelation 20:14, was the death OF death, when death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. Which, of course, is God. When Jesus died we all died. That was the second death that was needed before the new birth. We are crucified with Christ. We died when He died. And now we live because He lives in us, and through us, and as us. So when we're speaking of killing each other (with kindness) what we're speaking of is what we see in 2 Corinthians 5:18, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." We ARE reconciled, so we CAN reconcile others by TELLING them the good new that THEY are reconcilied. We don't have to actually reconcile anybody. God was in Christ on the cross reconciling us to Himself. That happened 2,000 years ago. That's a done deal. So we don't have to try to "save" people. We can simply tell them that they are saved. Or, even better, tell them what the Gospel really says: God is love and He loves you. And, again, we can tell them this by simply telling them, "I love you." We don't have to use the Word, "Jesus." Because God is love. When we use the Word love we ARE saying God. We ARE saying Jesus. Or, even better still, we can SHOW people that we love them. Through acts of kindness. I think one of the most important things Jesus did on His earthly ministry was to SHOW people the Father. By showing people a man, wrapped in human flesh, that loved people. Show and tell is important, right? And many times actions speak louder than words. I've been in situations where--one time I gave someone a substantial monetary gift. And that person was literally shaking with joy, and relief, and happiness. And when they said, "I can't believe you would do that," I replied with a simple, "I love you." And you better believe I believe THEY believe I love them. I think, in a very real way, I killed it. Which, in our vernacular, means "crushed it." Nailed it. Did it right. Because that's what this life is all about--being loved by God and loving each other with that same love. That's what we were created to do. That's what we were created to BE. We are God's expression on this earth. Jesus showed us the Father by showing us love. That's how we show other people the true God who is love--by showing them love. By killing them ALL (and that word is probably my point for tomorrow) with kindness!

The other day I sent out a tweet that said, "Kill them with kindness. Kill "Em All." And, full disclosure, Kill 'Em All is the name of an album from my favorite band of all-time. But my point was... you can't fight fire with fire. At least not in the traditional sense that we generally think of. Not in the "eye for an eye" sense. But we CAN fight fire with fire if we understand what the fire REALLY is. And, in a word (or a Bible verse), "...our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29). When I see fire in the Bible, I see God. When I see love in the Bible I see God. (Or when I see God in the Bible, I see love.) So in order to fight fire with fire in the correct, Biblical way, we do what Romans 12:21 says, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." We do what I believe Abraham Lincoln said, which is to destroy our enemies by making them our friends. Or we do what Romans 12:20 says (right before telling us to overcome evil with good, it tells us HOW to overcome evil with good), "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Fighting fire with the TRUE fire that is God. That is love. I think its really really hard to not like someone who is loving the hell out of you. When people are nice, sometimes its our first inclination to be wary. To think they have an ulterior motive. Because most of our experiences have taught us that people are out to take advantage of us. Most of our experiences have taught us that people are takers, and not givers. But that's why love is so amazing; it is radical. It is different than what the world has to offer. It is literally a more excellent way. Because love doesn't HAVE a motive. Love IS the motive. I think the best (and maybe, really, the only) reason to do something is because its in your heart to do it. And, yes, I know we have to have money to live. I know Paul said if you don't work you don't eat. But even then, taking care of ourselves or (on a higher level) taking care of each other with the money we earn MEANS that we are doing it because its in our hearts to do it. I find it very difficult to do things "just" for money. But if I know what that money is going to be used for, and if its a good thing, then its much easier for me to do what I gotta do. But my point is, we don't win anything with "an eye for an eye." Under that system everybody goes blind. But when we heap coals of fire on someone's head--by loving them... seeing a need and meeting it--what we're really doing is melting their hearts. Burning them with that consuming fire that is love. That consuming fire that consumes everything except itself (Himself). Leaving nothing BUT itself (Himself). That's what Jesus did on the cross when He remade the world in His image. And I know it doesn't always look like it, or seem like it, but the truth of the matter is... we are living in heaven on earth. Right now. Because heaven is in US right now. We are IN the Kingdom because the King is in us. We ARE the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Love. And in order to invite others into the Kingdom--or awaken others that THEY too are in the Kingdom--what we need to do is kill 'em. Kill 'em all. With love. And kindness.