Life | Love | Freedom

The way it really is..

Not living for yourself is a very rare lifestyle, one that's foreign to man's standard mode of thinking. It's not that we're called to deprive ourselves, heck, it's when we die to ourselves that we truly "live" and walk in the abundant life... I don't really think having "all we need for life and godliness", " living the abundant life", being unconditionally loved & accepted and having true purpose and meaning in life is a self-deprivation lifestyle. It's just rare that someone "sees" life from that perspective (i.e. death = life) and desires it and goes after it headlong. It's kinda like our encountering someone born/raised in the middle east...we don't really understand their way of thinking & lifestyle. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, ambassadors representing 'that' kingdoms way of thinking and rule in a foreign lan d...to those not "from there" it looks horrible, requiring much self-deprivation and effort...To those who "see" the kingdom of God for what it truely is...who have gone after it headlong with a faith of reckless abandon...there is peace that passes understanding, its burden is light and its requirements fit perfectly.

I was reminded this morning of the pizza place illustration. Sometimes those of us with the capability to see the Kingdom, are so acclimated to our wordly vision/version of "life" that we've not enough 'light' to see the abundance of the Kingdom. Just as you can enter Pizza Hut and initially have difficulty seeing because of the low light, you can also enter into the Satan's deceptions and begin "seeing" with wordly vision (concepts of success, peace, freedom and life). After a while, you are used to the the 'low light' of Satan's deception and begin to think such conditions/ways of thinking are normal...until...you leave the ol' pizza joint into the light.

Take a minute with me right now...what false conceptions of success, peace, freedom and life are you "seeing through" right now? Let's encourage one another with truth of the Kingdom of God.

To LIFE .

posted by Rick @ 6:31 PM