Love and Forgiveness

The impact of the Gospel in our lives is not a ticket to heaven to keep in our back pocket.  The Gospel is not just our comfort about dying and eternal life with the Father.  The evidence of the Gospel is love and forgiveness that cannot help but flow out of us - even to our enemies.  This is not something we learn to give; we cannot muster up enough strength to love our own families much less our enemies.  We cannot believe we are to unconditionally forgive our own spouses a few times, much less all the time.  The evidence of the Gospel in our own lives is not about deciding to give  love and forgiveness; the evidence of the Gospel is by faith receiving God's love and forgiveness.  

When we receive love from God, His love flows freely from us.  When we receive forgiveness from God, His forgiveness flows freely from us.  Our own human love and forgiveness is often very hard to give away, but God's love - by its very nature - cannot be stored and saved for use at our discretion.   Living water always flows; it is never stored or stagnant.  The life of a child in the Kingdom of God is poured out wine.  

When we have trouble giving love and forgiveness, it is not because others must earn or deserve our love and forgiveness.  We have trouble giving love and forgiveness because we have not received the love and forgiveness of God.  We do not have to earn these gifts; we will never deserve them.  That is why this gift from God is called "grace".  When we have received the real thing - real love and forgiveness will pour out of us.  It poured out of Jesus.

The tragedy of the crucifixion of Christ is not that His body was broken and His blood was shed; the tragedy is when we don't drink and when we don't eat.  If we are not hungry, we are either very sick or dead.  A lack of thirst is the first sign of dehydration.  Be excited about being hungry; you are not sick and you are not dead!  If you are not thirsty (proud/self-sustaining), drink quickly and enough before you die of dehydration.

Eat His body; drink His blood.  Do this often, in remembrance of Him.  Love and forgiveness will pour from your life.