One Last Item …Your Passport!

There is one more item that you’ll need to pack for our summer road trip – your passport. This is the most important item by far, so you’ll need to put it someplace very secure. It has to be guarded and must be with you at all times.  The Spirit guards this item best, so you need to stay close to Him.

Your passport is your love-filled heart!

In order to travel freely with no burdens of envy, resentment, aggravation, and all such as that, your new heart (given to you by Christ when you asked Him to be your Lord) must be open both to love and being loved at all times. Your “heart-passport” has three sections, loving God, loving others, and loving yourself. Let’s look at each.

Loving God:  The most important One to love is God! He is the One who created you, knows every part of you, and allowed His Son to die for you. He deserves more than the passing glance that you have been giving Him. Unfortunately, sitting in the cell showed not much more than looking in the mirror. Remember? There were mirrors all over the place. Your eyes can only focus on one thing. You can’t look at God and in the mirror at the same time. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus…” and as we travel, keep your heart open to the Spirit, following His lead. In doing so your love for God will increase every day, for in order to love God you have to remain plugged in to Him!

Remain open to being loved by God, too. You are the sparkle in His Eyes! Remember as we go there is no judgement allowed, and this includes judging yourself. 

Loving Others:  Make sure that you are diligent to look at others through the Eyes of Jesus as we travel. It’s easy to start fussing about this one or that one and what’s wrong with them. Remember that only Jesus is perfect. “Put the shoe on the other foot;” recall a time when you did something like what you’re complaining about another doing. What a wonderful place to step out in the awesome love of Jesus, being forgiving and patient with others. We’re all learning as we go, so remember that. The Spirit will show you how to love others in each case, in each moment. Again, keep your heart open to the Spirit and follow His lead. 

Remain open to being loved by others as well. Allow people to do things for you, to bless you, and to speak well of you. Just say, “Thank you,” without making any other negative comment about yourself. Don’t rob others of God’s blessing – allow others to be wonderful to you!

Loving Yourself:  Yes, I’m writing it again. Be kind to yourself. Children of The King tend to be hardest on themselves. Ease up, okay?  Our summer road trip will happen one day at a time. The joy is in the journey, not in perfection. And perfection isn’t in your luggage, anyway.

This blog post is shorter than the others have been…on purpose. This post is deeper than the others because love is so full. Love is deep, wide, and far-reaching. It makes all the difference in everything you say and do. Love is number one, and God’s love is the point!

Make sure that your passport is stashed securely. In fact, it’s good to take it out and check it every morning. As we walk on our trip, you might want to reach in your pocket and touch it every now and then to remember…”And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Scripture to ponder:  1 Corinthians 13 (read this slowly and carefully — twice!) 

Today’s weapon:  “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19