Perfect Love
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
(Joh 17:22-23 NASB)
It seems to me there there is something very inclusive of others when we see our perfection and that of others. Seeing us all as equally loved brings us together as nothing can and it is a message that the world desperately needs to hear.
We have been made perfect, not by a binding requirement of some religious dogma but by the perfect law of liberty….liberty to be loved and accepted by and through the Son and we have united in His perfect love….a love which casts out all fear and brings lasting peace.
AMEN Steve.
Man, this IS good news!
It breaks my heart to see so many scrambling around working hard to fulfill their religious obligations, and striving to measure up to their angry, vengeful God. They seem so intent on satisfying the demands of religion, even if they have to climb to the top on the backs of the downtrodden.
I remember standing up in church during the “personal witness” portion of the service (back when religion was important to me) and confessing how guilty I felt. I told them how I raced past so many poor and hurting people so I could get to church on time. I preached about how callous I had become toward others, and only desired to serve the church institution. I so easily cast off others to reach my target, and God forbid anyone should get in my way. Curse them! You who slow me down! I have important things to do!
I sat down, and the place was absolutely silent for several minutes. No one knew what to say… not even me!
Don’t let religion separate you from God’s children. Don’t let doctrine divide you from His creation.
Eyes on Jesus! …and everything else grows strangely dim…
I know what you mean Bruce. the downtrodden are all around us and for too long they have been suffering under the anxious feet of those trying to win God’s approval and stepping on so many in the process.
What they need to hear most is the good news, not condemnation.
“A Little Child”
. . . .an intuitive experience, Wes
Unless you become as a little child, you cannot see God’s Kingdom.
Though I speak all the philosophies of men with the eloquence and understanding of angels, but have not LOVE, I have become nothing more than a harsh brazen sound.
And even if I could see all things, and comprehend all that is hidden, and had all knowledge, and even if I had faith enough to move mountains, but I am unwilling to LOVE, I have no purpose.
And though I give, one morsel at a time, of what I have to feed the hungry, and though I sacrifice my energy for others, but have not LOVE, the growth and development, of God’s spirit within me, is halted.
LOVE knows how to handle an offence and is always kind; LOVE is not possessive, has no conditions, does not have to be paid back, does not buy or sell. LOVE is not self conscious, does not behave rudely, is not selfish or provoked, is blind to evil, does not revel in a superiority complex, but rejoices in the truth that we all are the life and body of God.
LOVE increases the worth of everyone. It has no hidden agenda. Love believes in everyone, never gives up hope, is steadfast for everyone.
LOVE NEVER FAILS TO BE GOD CONSCIOUS.
But things that we think we see and understand, will fail. All kinds of theologies, theories, and definitions will cease. Knowledge will be made useless.
For what we know and see, in our immaturity, is incomplete, but when LOVE that is perfect is here, then that which is incomplete becomes a part of that which is perfect.
When I was a child, I spoke as an innocent and affectionate child. I understood as a pure, spontaneous, and trusting child. I reasoned justly and played with joy as a carefree and creative child.
But when I became a man, I lost the innocence and purity of my unbiased childhood. For now, as a man, my vision is distorted. I cannot see who I really am. But when I was a child I intuitively knew that I was the character and likeness of God.
Now, as a man, I have become self conscious. But when I voluntarily return to my God conscious, childish innocence, I shall fully recognize and understand my Father as He does me.
As a result of that return, there abides FAITH, demonstrated by trust; CONFIDENCE, experienced by peace; LOVE, evidenced by compassionate intercession and restoration; but the conformation of our maturity and completeness is LOVE.
TO LOVE (agapao) is “to lay aside our own personal agenda and maintain our true identity as a Holy Life/Spirit by choosing not to be governed by the bias of our physical senses, as we offer ourselves cheerfully and voluntarily to God as the underwriter of, or the substitute price for, another’s redemption, reconciliation, and restoration, while recognizing and defending with compassion, the true identity and worth of their Divine origin.” (John 15:9-17, Matt. 5:43- 48, Mark 10:45)
We are an Eternal Spirit engaged in a momentary Human experience. As we allow the preeminence of our Spirit Senses to create the expansion of our limited Human potential, we, as the image of our Father, become the crowning glory of God’s perfection.
It is the Living Sacrifice of LOVE that calls forth the divine dynamics of unconditional restoration, and it’s compassion of oneness, through the knitting together of our interaction and intercession. To Love (agapao) is to RESTORE / REPAIR the unity and interdependence of the Family. It is the RANSOM for peace.
Selah,
First posted in August of 2004
Wow Wes. That was awesome.