Mature Love
To be mature in love for God is really to be dead to all other loves. Letting God set himself as a seal on my arm and heart means I want Him to be both my source, and reward. He defines love, and He is the only lasting reward for making decisions that agree with love. He is the "gate" all love must pass through.
Song of Songs 8:6Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.
7Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.
Everything in fallen creation must die to be resurrected in life. God doesn't want me to wait for my physical death to experience the glory of resurrected life. I can die right now...today...where it really matters: in my definition of life. I can change my mind today about what it really means to be alive.
John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.
3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Jesus is the only life source for planet earth. Until Jesus returns, life isn't happening. Many, even in the church, are giving up true life by trying to make life happen now. This is so tragic:
Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Most of the world, in, and out of, the church will never actually choose to live like this is true in a way that is refelected in their time, money, or their speech. A person might make a choice here or there that agrees with this reality, but that is very different from setting my heart to live until I feel free in this reality...until I can give what I want of my time and my money, and say whatever it is the Lord is saying, without fear of cost or loss.
Living like this is true frees me to pursue real life...to make choices that will still be seen as wise in thousands of years...even in trillions of years. Those truly in love cannot be bought. There is no amount of money, or fame, or recognition from earth that can move the heart of someone who is already dead and living in another place.
This is my one desire...to fully live somewhere else before my body actually dies.
Psalm 27:4One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
5For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
This is true freedom. A person who loves like this cannot be bought...cannot be bribed, and cannot be silenced, yet they also live with a clean heart, submitting to authority...not breaking a bruised reed or extinguishing even a smoldering flax, but steadily speaking true things in love until they are plainly seen:
Matthew 12:18“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
19He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
Offers of power and threats of loss have no effect on a man who "knows that he knows" God made him to love him, God made him to provide for him, and God made him to be great forever. Many are trapped in the expectations of others...constantly pulled by the desire of their heart for freedom and truth in one direction, and fears of loss, loneliness, and exposure by the opinions of the majority. Many dream that someday the majority will change their mind, so the individual can be free and still accepted. This will never happen. The one who made you is ready to give you freedom AND acceptance. No one else can. In the final generation individuals choosing this freedom for themselves will unite an entire company around Jesus...it will never happen by majority decision. If you wait for that, you will miss out on all the rewards of individual love. "Waiting to see" the end times unfold, hoping the day will soon come when "we all live different" will be the most disappointing reality for many. Many yearn to live differently for Jesus now, but can't seem to actually ever do it. They are waiting for others, rather than responding to God now...even as others individually choose this reality all around then. It must be chosen individually, and at the cost of every other relationship:
Matthew 10:37“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
This is the risk...the faith expressed...that will actually save all these relationships, but it must be taken...Jesus must be believed. It will never be easier than now. Ever.
No one can give me anything better than God....and only God can give me anything truly good. When I live entirely in this reality, nothing tires me out, makes me afraid, compels me to do more than I should, or can keep me from doing all God desires. In this freedom, I don't do anything God doesn't want me to do, no matter what people think, and I don't neglect to do anything God wants done! I am free to give it all away, or none. I am free to speak, and staying silent costs me nothing as long as I am agreeing with the one who sustains me and holds the dust of my being together moment by moment. I don't even need to obey Him perfectly...I just have to want to...I just have to believe the one who made me is the only one who can keep me, and not give THAT space of my heart to another thing or person. To be alive in this manner is to be truly dead to the world. You can't kill something already dead. You can't buy someone who has no earthly price tag. This is safety from any storm or manipulation.
A man living in this kind of freedom says things few others are willing to say, and does things without regard for the cost or sacrifice. A man like this never runs out of time or money, and concerns himself only with the opinion of the one who provides for Him.
It is easy to know where i am in this process of death and resurrection life. I can easily measure this reality in my own calendar, checkbook, and speech. How free am I from these little chains? I want to go all the way into freedom. I wasn't made to worry about provision, or time, or what people think of me....I was made to be loved and provided for forever. I set my heart to actually believe it until it manifests in the hundreds of small decisions I make every day that will ultimately determine my role in eternity.
Luke 19:17“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’
To be faithful in small things is the only kind of faithful there is until Jesus returns. Then real life begins. Every day, I am choosing my role in a much more real life that will last much longer than what I am tempted to fear loosing today. Do I really believe it?
Daniel 5:16“And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
Revelation 22:11“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
12“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
Song of Songs 8:6Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.
7Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.
Everything in fallen creation must die to be resurrected in life. God doesn't want me to wait for my physical death to experience the glory of resurrected life. I can die right now...today...where it really matters: in my definition of life. I can change my mind today about what it really means to be alive.
John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.
3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Jesus is the only life source for planet earth. Until Jesus returns, life isn't happening. Many, even in the church, are giving up true life by trying to make life happen now. This is so tragic:
Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Most of the world, in, and out of, the church will never actually choose to live like this is true in a way that is refelected in their time, money, or their speech. A person might make a choice here or there that agrees with this reality, but that is very different from setting my heart to live until I feel free in this reality...until I can give what I want of my time and my money, and say whatever it is the Lord is saying, without fear of cost or loss.
Living like this is true frees me to pursue real life...to make choices that will still be seen as wise in thousands of years...even in trillions of years. Those truly in love cannot be bought. There is no amount of money, or fame, or recognition from earth that can move the heart of someone who is already dead and living in another place.
This is my one desire...to fully live somewhere else before my body actually dies.
Psalm 27:4One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
5For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
This is true freedom. A person who loves like this cannot be bought...cannot be bribed, and cannot be silenced, yet they also live with a clean heart, submitting to authority...not breaking a bruised reed or extinguishing even a smoldering flax, but steadily speaking true things in love until they are plainly seen:
Matthew 12:18“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
19He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
Offers of power and threats of loss have no effect on a man who "knows that he knows" God made him to love him, God made him to provide for him, and God made him to be great forever. Many are trapped in the expectations of others...constantly pulled by the desire of their heart for freedom and truth in one direction, and fears of loss, loneliness, and exposure by the opinions of the majority. Many dream that someday the majority will change their mind, so the individual can be free and still accepted. This will never happen. The one who made you is ready to give you freedom AND acceptance. No one else can. In the final generation individuals choosing this freedom for themselves will unite an entire company around Jesus...it will never happen by majority decision. If you wait for that, you will miss out on all the rewards of individual love. "Waiting to see" the end times unfold, hoping the day will soon come when "we all live different" will be the most disappointing reality for many. Many yearn to live differently for Jesus now, but can't seem to actually ever do it. They are waiting for others, rather than responding to God now...even as others individually choose this reality all around then. It must be chosen individually, and at the cost of every other relationship:
Matthew 10:37“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
This is the risk...the faith expressed...that will actually save all these relationships, but it must be taken...Jesus must be believed. It will never be easier than now. Ever.
No one can give me anything better than God....and only God can give me anything truly good. When I live entirely in this reality, nothing tires me out, makes me afraid, compels me to do more than I should, or can keep me from doing all God desires. In this freedom, I don't do anything God doesn't want me to do, no matter what people think, and I don't neglect to do anything God wants done! I am free to give it all away, or none. I am free to speak, and staying silent costs me nothing as long as I am agreeing with the one who sustains me and holds the dust of my being together moment by moment. I don't even need to obey Him perfectly...I just have to want to...I just have to believe the one who made me is the only one who can keep me, and not give THAT space of my heart to another thing or person. To be alive in this manner is to be truly dead to the world. You can't kill something already dead. You can't buy someone who has no earthly price tag. This is safety from any storm or manipulation.
A man living in this kind of freedom says things few others are willing to say, and does things without regard for the cost or sacrifice. A man like this never runs out of time or money, and concerns himself only with the opinion of the one who provides for Him.
It is easy to know where i am in this process of death and resurrection life. I can easily measure this reality in my own calendar, checkbook, and speech. How free am I from these little chains? I want to go all the way into freedom. I wasn't made to worry about provision, or time, or what people think of me....I was made to be loved and provided for forever. I set my heart to actually believe it until it manifests in the hundreds of small decisions I make every day that will ultimately determine my role in eternity.
Luke 19:17“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’
To be faithful in small things is the only kind of faithful there is until Jesus returns. Then real life begins. Every day, I am choosing my role in a much more real life that will last much longer than what I am tempted to fear loosing today. Do I really believe it?
Daniel 5:16“And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
Revelation 22:11“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
12“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
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