Release part 2
Love is giving. So in order to receive it, you must release it. In order to, in a sense, prove that you have it, you have to share it. And this is how I always try to explain that: You can't give what you don't have. You can only give what you do have. So if you love someone--if you give yourself--that means that on some level you believe that you are loved. Otherwise you couldn't give it, because you wouldn't believe you had it. Truly receiving IS releasing. And I want to use Acts 3:6 as my memory verse for today. "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." And I want to focus in on that phrase "such as I have." Because it seems like a lot of the time we (or at least I) feel like we don't have much to give. I certainly don't have silver or gold to give. (But when I did... I did.) And that's ok. Life, believe it or not, is about more than money. Jesus said it like this, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). And notice that He didn't say to do one INSTEAD of the other. He simply said one is weightier than the other. More important. And the thing that is more important than money... is how you treat people. I've long said there are only two important things in this universe: God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. So when we're talking about giving what we've got--to people--don't get caught up on material things. And, listen, sometimes money DOES answer some questions. My pastor always says, "Go down to the power company and tell them how much you love Jesus. See if they won't turn the lights off." Spoiler alert: They will. So sometimes that's what's what. But on a deeper level, people need love. Period. People need YOU. That's why Jesus said there's no greater love that a man can have than to lay his life down for his friends. And then Jesus literally went to the cross and did just that. But in a less literal way, we can do that by esteeming others higher than ourselves. By giving what we've got. Our Three T's. Time. Talent. Treasure. And I always list treasure last, but its still on the list. Someone once told me that kid's spell "love" T-I-M-E. And I believe it. My kid knows I love him for a lot of reasons. I try to show him every day in every way. But one of the biggest reasons is that every night we have "our time." Where we just be with each other. He usually watches a cartoon while I read my Kindle. But we share, and enjoy, each other's company. And its my favorite time of every day. That connection. That bonding. That relationship. That's what life is--relationship.To live is to love and to love is to live. Loving people. Giving them what we've got. Giving them who we are. And in that way, proving our love. I feel like I'm really circling Romans 12:2. So that's where I'll be tomorrow. Proving what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. But for tonight I just want to close where I opened. Love is giving. In order to truly and fully receive it, you have to release it!