At 31 weeks pregnant, I’m (thankfully) not talking about myself,
but this world.
Our world that yearns and moans and cries out for God to rescue.
Like a woman in labor,
Creation seems to crack and pang and suffer more
with each bit of darkness that springs up.
You can’t labor well with negative people in the room with you.
Life, Love can’t flourish with hate.
Instead of blaming the darkness we blame the products of that darkness.
People hate criminals, hate slanderers, hate batterers.
We forget that we are all children of God.
We are all cut from His cloth.
We all possess the components within us
to commit the very same ills,
don’t we?
Our world is brought down and bound up by hate
and we can’t seem to ever really feel free.
Even when we think we’ve stopped hating,
we still have our exceptions,
don’t we?
Just as God gave us the sabbath
and that rest for our own benefit,
so did He create love and
create us to love and
create love FOR us.
When we love like Jesus loved, we’re free.
Free from the bondage of hate and revenge and bitterness.
Free to let go and
free to love.
Love liberates that which was placed deep inside us
when God breathed us into existence.
It frees *Him* in us.
And just as we remember who we are as God’s children,
and remember how we Love with His love,
we can accept that we are all the same.
The same as the slanderers and criminals. But even better news –
the same as the great ones.
Any greatness I see in someone,
I know that the same components for greatness dwell within me.
Our potential for destruction or construction is endless.
And because the First Love already liberated us,
love means we get to choose.
By Arianne, from To Think Is To Create
Refreshing Arianne! Thank you for this beautiful reminder. Love changes our vision and I want to [choose] to see through the lens of love.
We are freed from our own darkness when we see that way, aren’t we? It’s such a gift. <3
This is a beautiful post. I love the sentiment: “Instead of blaming the darkness, we blame the products of the darkness”; never thought of it like that, but it’s true. The people are loveable; it’s the sin in them that makes them seem otherwise, and only through Jesus can we have a new nature and the righteousness of God – good news for them and good news for us.
I know that since I’ve become a Christian, I’ve forgiven in a way that I couldn’t before I knew Jesus. I pray that I’ll continue to walk with Him and show His love and forgiveness to people.
It puts every human at the same place, the place of needing love and grace and a turning to Him. It frees us of judgment and hate and revenge and all the other things God hates. And I believe forgiveness is for the forgiver when it’s us doing it. Another way we’re freed. <3
Such a fresh beautiful post. A great reminder not to hate the products of darkness, but the darkness itself. I am constantly asking God to help me to see through His eyes and to love like He loves. It really does change everything about how we view our world and the people in it.
We are free to be compassionate – the most difficult thing in the world sometimes. Thanks for reading. <3
For God so loved the world
the whole world
each and everyone of us
baggage and all
I love His love!
And I want to pass it on!
We are each His child. Yes!
Beautiful.
I love this especially:
“Any greatness I see in someone,
I know that the same components for greatness dwell within me.”
I’m blessed to have a spiritual mentor in my life whose face literally radiates with God’s love. It’s incredible- it’s what I strive for. I want people to be able to just look at me and see something different- I want them to actually see the love of my Redeemer not just hear what comes out of my mouth.
Thank you for this post and congratulations on the coming arrival.
Thank you Shannon! Yes how amazing that you have a mentor like that – such a gift. We have so much potential, each of us. <3
How to love those different than me…a lesson i’ve been learning my ENTIRE life. Thank you for the reminder. I.loved.this.post.
This is so beautiful!
It is only through Jesus love that I am truly free from the past. Actually I wrote about this on my blog very recently http://kingsdaughters21.blogspot.com/2011/07/free-from-past.html