What are we doing with our lives?
Published: Sat, 04/17/21
The power of envy....
When you mix, love, joy, peace, patience kindness together, like "mixing them together in a soup" it forms a beautiful life.
You find that's the definition of God. That's who He is. In I Corinthians 13, it talks about how love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy..."
Think about that for a second. If you don't have hope in God, every moment we live, we have to scrape to get what we want before we die.
When you look at what "LOVE" is, here are a few descriptions: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control...." Galatians 5:22-23.
You know when you think about those qualities, they're pretty great, but when you "mix" them all up together, you come up with something beautiful. That's who God is. He's patient with us, gentle, He's kind and faithful to us. Think about that for a second. Not only that but God gives joy (happiness) and peace.
With God's love we don't need to envy our neighbor no matter what awesome thing he/she has. Why? Because God is "I AM that I AM" and has power to give us whatever we want. Ok, just so you understand me, God's not Santa Claus but check this out:
"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4.
The KEY here is to delight in God. You ask how can I do that? Well, think about our very lives. We can breath, smell, see things, touch, hear! What about the whole of creation outside our door? The trees, the sky, the grass, the flowers...then go back in your house and see your family. Look down at your cell phone and think of your friends. Surely there's a lot to say "thanks God" for!
And if we give our lives to God and place our hearts in his hands, He will come and live within us and fill us with his love. If we set aside each day to spend time each time with God, we can delight in all he has given us.
Not impressed? Let's look at it from a different angle! In the Bible it also says in I John:
"If a man say he loves God, but hates his brother, than he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." I John 4:20
and...
"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, an you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." I John 3:15
Just so you understand this verse, remember that murder starts as a seed in our hearts and it all begins with hate.
One more:
"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44
DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
God is the exact opposite of this. And we can live in joy and peace instead of hatred and anger. Love builds us up but hate tears us down. I remember hearing a possible quote from Confucius that said: " Seek revenge and you should dig two graves, one for yourself." So living a life apart from Gods love brings death (internally first).
Living in Gods love means that we can live by truth and don't need to hide behind lies.
Have you ever wondered who would ever want and decide that they wanted to live their life hiding behind lies anyway - I mean if they had a fresh start and could decide without fear? Well the world is a strange place but I wouldn't choose it.
In I Corinthians 13 it talks about "love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth." I mean evil gain is sweet at first but turns to gravel in their mouths.*
(*Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel." Proverbs 20:17
Ok, one more verse to sum it all up: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I (Jesus) came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
This is the life I'm talking about. The "mix" of all the qualities of Gods love. The mixture of love, joy, peace patience, kindness...The beauty of a life full of real love!
This is the AWESOME life God offers us when we trust in Him. A life with extreme love in all its fullness:
"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that anyone who believes (trusts) in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
Ask Jesus to forgive you today and come into your life and truly change you from within. He will.
Have questions? I would love to hear from you too.
~Albie
SMILE :D
SailingWithAlbie@gmail.com