Living Outrageously Loved

I've been thinking about this.  Living Outrageously Loved. I think I heard Graham Cooke say it that way the first time. He said "I'm living outrageously loved--and that jolly well settles it."

I certainly have felt it the last week. It's amazing how the gift of a new baby can do that...make you feel loved....even in the midst of a lack of sleep and sore tailbones and....and....and. There's a certain ecstasy in a newborn; the evidence of a miracle.

There's this paradox in our world that goes a few ways on "Love". And when I say "Love", I'm thinking of a certain definition. In my mind, perhaps I've made it up, but I truly believe it's the kind of love the Bible talks about.  Unconditional. Fully accepting and yet always bringing you higher.  There's no settling when it comes to real love. It always sees the good and as a result, the "not so good" behavior has a chance to fall by the wayside. It's constantly seeking to encourage, to bring life, and to shut down death. Real Love is Life.

And we were made for eternal Living.

Yes, our human bodies will fail us at some time. But thank God this isn't all we have going for us.

I've been thinking about perspective a lot lately as I continually learn the art of forgiveness--which essentially is the art of Giving. Of Generosity. Of Living Outrageously Loved.

We had a beautiful time of praying in our little Lucy at our House Church a few months ago.  One of our friends said that Lucy would carry a spirit of generosity with her--and that she would always be giving out to others.  She said our tendency might be to try to guard her so as not to let her be "abused", but that this wouldn't happen. It seems that our Lucy would have the strategic wisdom to give powerfully.

Isn't that beautiful?

Children are such gifts from God. They birth in us who they were created to be from the very beginning. I-Love-That.

She is but a week and a half old---out of the womb--and yet her generous spirit has taught me Love. She's taught me how to give. To forgive. To live outrageously Loved.

And Living Loved is why we're here. It's our purpose.

I love being loved. Not because I'm insecure--though there are surely spots in me that are. I love being loved because that's why He made me. To be loved.

And then to give it out.

This makes life make sense. And it is the absolutely happiest way to live. No storm can weather your path when you live a life loved.  No discipline or correction makes you second guess yourself because living a Life loved is always being called higher.  From glory to glory.

Living loved can look several different ways. Some people may think of it as conceit, but it's only because they haven't experienced it. Truly loving yourself is not conceit. It's your identity. God made us because He thinks we're wonderful.  Why would I disagree with God? Yes, I'm a victim of the Fall. Yes, I have faults. Yes, I need to apologize when I do something wrong. Yes, I occasionally need discipline. But we must remember that the Fall is not who He created us to be.  He created me perfect--as an outflow of His very nature.  And He created you perfect, too.

When something comes against that nature of divine perfection, it is only there to help us see where we might be living outside of God's best.

People may recognize our faults. Sure; it happens every day (that's why this is so important!). But what they do with our faults proves their loyalty to us.  If they decide to inherently pull out our potential even in the midst of mistakes, that is Love.  This is what God does. Jesus made a bypass for our faults.  Surely there will be ebbs and flows, and there will be people and circumstances who seem against us---but in all reality, "all things work together for good according to His purposes for us (Romans 8:28)". Nothing can hold us back from the goodness of God unless we choose to believe a lie.

I'm adamant that our first reason for being is for Love. Period.  Our second reason for being is to give that Love out. Period.

The Bible is the book of Restoration, not of discipline. Justice is Reconciliation with the Father---not judgement. We love our kids first, we discipline them if it's for their safety and well-being.  Same as our God. He's not focusing on our sin. He's focusing on His love for us. 

And this is where all Forgiveness is birthed. As humans, we can't force ourselves to forgive, we don't have enough willpower to do so.  Of course, we can be willing to forgive.  But forgiveness comes from an outflow of learning how to live loved. We forgive--because He loves us.

We are giving--because He loves us. We live lives of joy because He teaches us how to receive His love.

And we can't give out what we haven't chosen to receive in the first place.

That's what I've been learning anyway.....again.

And, so, it's this ebb and flow of love. Receiving Love. Then giving it. And each time, my joy bubble increases and increases. Fear disappears. Forgiveness is innate. Life tastes Good.

Just another reason I love Red............

Saved by Grace so that no man can boast. It is a gift from God. Fully Accepted into the Beloved Heart of the Father. (Eph. 2:8, Isaiah 53:3)

And that "jolly well settles it."