Reality

Sorry this is so late in coming.  Today got away from me completely.  One minute I was opening my eyes from what felt like more of a nap than a night's sleep, the next thing I know I'm doing ten errands before I have to hit the time clock at work.  It's been one of those crazy, racing days.  And it's all in God's plan, because I had my God visit experience all ready to write out and of course the Lord changed it completely.  He took my too rushed, too filled day and stopped me in mid flight with a quote that just blew me away. 

I enjoy reading fiction.  To me, books are like mini mind vacations.  They take me away from my own "stuff" and allow me to enter into the lives and adventures of all different characters.  It's a break from reality and responsibility, overthinking, to do lists, and the busy of everyday life. 

In the book I am reading there is a quotation at the start of each chapter.  And while most of these have been really good, one I read tonight resonated with my heart, making me smile and think all in the same moment.  "Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced--even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it."  John Keats. 

The Bible is filled with proverbs.  There's a whole book of them!  But think about it....on a personal level they only become a reality when our lives illustrate them to others.  Our walk with Jesus is at it's realist when it is actually a reflection of His love in our lives.  Our lives are to illustrate, prove what the Bible says is reality.  The words in the Bible can be just words on a page or they can be the living water that pours from our lives into the world around us. 

I love this concept.  It makes me want to become what the Bible says, walk out the love of Christ, illustrate the precepts given to us by the Lord.

God's love can be a wonderful thought, but until we really accept it and believe it, it's not a reality in our heart, and by extension our lives.  If we really don't believe our Father loves us wholeheartedly, then our life is not going to be a picture of that love to others.  I really hope I am making some kind of sense here. 

The proverbs and precepts in the Bible are only black and white until they are fleshed out as we live them out.  The more we live them out, the more real they become, to us and to those around us. 
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  But until we start living it out, it lays flat on the page.  Until we start allowing the Holy Spirit it to apply God's Word in our lives, it remains dormant in a closed book.  Ephesians 6:17  Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  

What an interesting and wonderful concept!   

Lord, I love the way You light up my world.  So many different ways, so many touches and visits.  Please help me bring Your Word and Your love to life as I seek to follow You.  Let me be an illustration of Your love.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Think about it!