Be loved

"Love is the greatest weapon we have," said a friend of mine. True, but not loving, as much as BEING loved, is our greatest weapon.
It is only when we don't feel loved that we pick up our lives, feeling that we have to make something out of them ourselves. This is an action born out of fear. When we don't feel loved, we feel afraid. So we act against that fear. This is then called pride. And fear and pride are definitely not fruits of the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit are produced in us when we are loved by God. When we are loved by Him, it is natural for us to then love, to be joyous, to have peace, to be patient with people, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self controlled. All these things are easy when you feel, and know, you are loved. They only become difficult when we feel like we are not loved by Him. Think about it. How can you ever express those traits when you are feeling guilty or afraid?n How can you be full of love, and joy, when you are feeling like you have to perorm and work up your own spirituality? The only fruits that can come out of those emotions, spiritual states, are pride, born of fear, and subsequent works of the flesh. This is why the Bible says that faith works through love. Because it really does!

The lack of being loved is the epidemic of the world. I believe that most sin is born out of humanity's attempt to compensate for its lack of love. If people were loved like they were created to be, from day one, they would feel no need to do most of the crazy things that they do. I believe that they do most of those crazy things as a substitute, to try to meet that unmet need. We are made to be loved. We, human beings, are at our core, love receiving machines--- it's how we're built. We are built in the image of God, and that's how He's built. We are all, us and Him, primarily love receivers. This is why we need each other. This is why no one of us can go off and live in a cave by ourselves somewhere. We will, eventually, in some fashion or other, seek the love that we so real-ly need. It's not a want, it's a need, because that is how we are made.

So it's only when this need is not filled that we try to fill it ourselves, which is, technically, not possible. We cannot love ourselves. Not in the way that will fill that built in need to receive love. Because that place can only be filled by the love of another. Yes, it is possible to love ourselves in the sense that we do what is best for ourselves, agree with God in what he says about us, forgive ourselves when He forgives us, etc. But there is a place inside us, built in, that needs the love of another, or others. And THAT place inside of us, which is the most critical one of all, is one that we cannot fill ourselves. That is what I mean when I say that we cannot love ourselves. It is impossible.

And all manner of sin, brokenness, dysfunctionality, sickness, is born by us trying to love ourselves. As stated before, I believe this is the main problem with the world. We are all trying to love ourselves, because we've been, tragically, seperated from the source of that love that we all need right from the get go, namely God.

Love secures us. Love eases our worries, takes away our fears, and makes us whole people. The happiest, most functional people I have seen in my life are those who have been loved consistently, mainly by their parents/families, their entire lives. These people are the ones who seem to flow more effortlessly through life. Because they are living in God's perfect plan for human beings, in which you receive and give love all the time. He created this family structure as a place for us to experience His love in practical expression. And these people show forth the results! It is a beautiful thing to see, and I do not begrudge these people anything. I love to see them.

On the other hand, it is usually those who have experienced the least love who are the most dysfunctional, the loudest, brashest, most insecure, troublemakers, etc. etc. etc. And if you have the eyes to see it, you can recognize that this their attempt at filling that void that never got filled. These are the people who are trying the hardest to love themselves. And what is it that always brings these people around? Somebody loving them. We've all seen the movies where this happens. That's because this principle works. In any human being. It's always the same, because reality is always the same. Love NEVER fails. In Christianity or out of it. It ALWAYS works. It works in Muslims, Buddhists, athiests, agnostics, Jw's,... you name 'em. The Bible says that LOVE NEVER FAILS. Never. And the Bible is right!

See, sin is not so much human beings choosing on purpose to do bad things (although it is that at times). It's rather more of a default setting that comes out that hole that's left inside us where God's love should have been. So what is the solution to all this, and the purpose of me writing this essay? It is to propose a solution. To Christian and non-Christians alike. To everybody. And here it is.

Allow yourself to be loved.

I'll say it again for those of us who didn't quite get it. Allow yourself to be loved. Allow yourself to be loved.

I believe that this is the answer to the world and all its' problems. And it is, fortunately, what God is just dying to do. I mean that literally and figuratively. He is dying to do it figuratively, because that's who He is. He IS love. So how could He have any other motive towards you? It's impossible. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that if you come to God, you will be loved. Period. Because it's all He can do. He is infinite love. It's who He is! And, of course, this love was brilliantly illustrated when He died for us literally as well.

Now, the key is to let Him. Now I can't tell you that I understand all how this works, or that I've got it all figured out, or that I even do it very well myself. All I know is that it's true. And it desperately needs to be done. We are all so love starved, and the only solution is for us to be loved.

And I mean all of us. All of humanity. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, or subscribe to my theology or not. I don't care, because if you are a human being, you need to be loved. You need it and there is no denying that. So my proposal to us all is to allow ourselves to be loved.


YOU NEED TO BE LOVED. More than you need to work hard, more than you need to read scripture, more than you need to go to church, MORE THAN ANYTHING. And I believe that God is fully able to do it, but we have to be willing to step down and let Him. And when I say step down, I mean stop all of our efforts at trying to earn it. LOVE CAN NEVER BE EARNED. Otherwise it would not be love!! Therefore, God can't love us when we are in that state. Because true love can not be earned. Otherwise it is not love!! It is a reward, something to be earned. And that's something other than love. And we must be willing to stop all of those things we do attempting to love ourselves. We have to be willing to take this HUGE leap, (and I do mean huge, because we're all so used to loving ourselves,) AND JUST STOP. STOP.

STOP, STOP, STOP.

Let's all say it together...whether you are a Christian, non-Christian, whatever... it doesn't matter--"God, right now I choose to stop whatever it is that I am doing in order to try and love myself, because it's obviously not working, and I'll let you love me."

The only reason we feel like God is not thinking about us all the time is due to OUR OWN screwed up beliefs, not His. He IS thinking about you all the time, and would LOVE to move in on your life and fill it with His love. It's only because we don't think He's like that that keeps us from receiving Him like that. Which, again, goes back to the root cause of it all, lack of love. We ARE made to be loved by Him like that, but because we're not used to it, we haven't thought it's real. BUT IT IS!!!!!!!!!! It only takes learning how to trust to enter into it.

Now... does this mean we are just supposed to sit in our houses and do nothing all day long, waiting for God to come down and love us? No. Life is for living, and we are supposed to be out there living it. BUT THE ONLY WAY TO BE MOTIVATED TO DO ANY OF IT CORRECTLY IS BY LOVE. So I DO advocate ceasing to do all those things that you do that are motivated by fear and guilt and any other jacked up, perverted, twisted motive.

Now I know that a lot of people will say something like, "How then is my spiritual life to be maintained? If I stop praying, stop fasting, stop reading the Bible, stop going to church, etc etc, how am I possibly going to maintain my spiritual walk?"

So God is foing to forget you.

Riiiiight.

This would be like you forgetting yourself in the morning when you wake up. This would be like you forgetting to feed yourself, forgetting to bathe yourself, clothe yourself, brush your teeth, go to the bathroom, etc. etc. etc. The Bible says that we are His body.

The only reason we feel like God is not thinking about us all the time is due to OUR OWN screwed up beliefs, not His. He IS thinking about you all the time, and would LOVE to move in on your life and fill it with His love. It's only because we don't think He's like that that keeps us from receiving Him like that. Which, again, goes back to the root cause of it all, lack of love. We ARE made to be loved by Him like that, but because we're not used to it, we don't think it's real. BUT IT IS!!!!!!!!!! It only takes learning how to trust to enter into it. Which, as I stated in one of my earlier posts, is another critical skill that we need to be taught, (as opposed to trying harder.)

God forgetting you would be like my cat forgetting that she wants to be fed in the morning...and later in the morning...and in the afternoon... and at night... and late at night. It's just not going to happen! It's an impossibility.

TRY IT AND FIND OUT!