THE LOVE OF GOD POURED OUT

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God Romans 8:28……..EVEN OUR SINS (Tom Reindl, 1:1)

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

With just these two verses running around in your head, you could live the rest of your life completely without fear or anxiety. And I am not talking about memorization here. For in order for something to run around in your head, it has to be in your heart, and….whoops, it already is in your heart. (The love of God has been poured out within our hearts).

How much love can your heart hold? The love of God poured out, that’s how much.

I have been talking about striving a lot lately. The word “strive” strikes some people differently than others. For me, it doesn’t mean performance, rather, it means doing the best I can with what I have been given, not toward reward, but toward living the life that I couldn’t build myself. This life I am speaking of is full, abundant, and full of things to do, like watching my daughter grow up, playing, working, lazing around, reading, learning, writing, and all other manner of wonderful things that used to cause such pride in me, I thought my head would explode. But there is no pride left in doing these things anymore. There is just the joy of being able to do it, of not being bored with life, of a continuous celebration because now I am free to do and free to be.

I understand so much more now than I used to. I used to think I had to be good, that everything I did had to be perfect. I used to strive as hard as I could to treat people well, but not because I loved them, rather because I thought I had to do it. Now, I do these things because I love to do them, and “having” to do them no longer exists.

Yes, I have to wake up in the morning if I am going to do anything. There are still some things I have to do, like breathe. But the things that used to cause pride in me, the things that I used to do out of fear are now things I do because I know Romans 5:5. That’s right, the love of God is poured out within my heart. It’s no wonder I love doing these things. And when I do them, I know that Romans 8:28 is true, even if I fail, even if I sin.

Imagine that, if I sin, God uses it toward my good, working it together with everything else. I don’t know these things perfectly, but I am coming to know them more and more, and life is getting better and better. Dive inside of your heart, and experience the love of God poured out within you.