Discovering what love is one day at a time
I was just thinking about castles the other day…honestly, I was thinking about fairy tales and prince/ princess stories. You know the basic story lines…The evil whatever and the fortress that surrounded his/her castle… Castles were fortresses. They were a place where one could resist attack. They were large and permanent. They were a place of security or survival. Castles were a retreat safe against intrusion or invasion. We can live in castles in our heart and minds and live like royalty, or we can live in them like paupers. Royalty…great wealth…never ending supply…Paupers…needs not met…slaves to society…marked Which reality do you identify with? Do you live in a castle in your mind and your heart or do you live in a fortress. A castle is a home for a royal family that shares the wealth and the increase that they have received. A fortress is similar structure that is walled up. Those walls are for protection to fight to keep what it contains, and fights against anything that comes near. Jesus Christ is our strong Tower, our Fortress; He is our Defense the place that we can resist the attacks on our mind. He is the Truth that stands against the lies that try to tear us down and make us feel like there is no hope…that we are marked, that things will never change…. Jesus is our security, our protection, and is in charge of our reputation. He calls us into deep relationship with Him and with His people. He loves the world. When you think of relationship, what comes to mind…fondness, love, kinship…fellowship…goodwill affection, intimacy? When we have relationship with one another we move towards the person. We do not set up walls or borders in our heart to protect ourselves from them. Those walls and borders could be as simple as not having value for people. When we value people we honor them. It doesn’t mean we agree on everything. It doesn’t mean we compromise His truth to fit in. It doesn’t mean we change our convictions so others will not be uncomfortable. It means we treat others how we want to be treated. We let people in… We tell them the truth…They see past our skin and into our stuff…good bad and ugly…. [Intimacy… (Into …me…you…see….)] That might feel scary….someone seeing your ugly stuff…the ugly stuff was never meant for us to keep. We cannot always see it, and sometimes we hide it so we do not have to look at it. But God designed us for relationship; He gave us gifts that we could use to help one another with. Those gifts are designed for building each other up; to helping each other tear down thorny walls in our hearts and minds, and to strengthening the Body of Christ as He designed. Do people scare you? Why? Is it possible that you are believing a lie? Do you keep people out of your comfort bubble by only sharing things that “sound” politically correct? Do you look for the “Atta’ boys” from the people you are surrounded by rather than the approval of God? Do you have two different lives…that which people see and that which they don’t? Do you only value people if they agree with you? Even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…He valued us and honored us even though we were not in agreement with Him. Because of His sacrifice for us, because He has made a way for us, we are part of a royal kingdom. We are not in debt to our sin. We are not paupers. May we all be encouraged in our hearts and united in love so that we may have the full riches of complete understanding. That we may know the mystery of God- namely Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
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AuthorI have been married to my wonderful husband for 29 years. We have two young men ages 25 and 20.. This blog is somewhat of a journal and attempt for me to remind myself of my purpose and invite others to join me in keeping an eternal perspective as we move through each day. Archives
May 2023
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