Depending on which lens you have on, this statement may either be offensive to you, a startling realization or better yet a confirmation for you. I hope it is the latter. "Your posture in life will be a reflection of your perceived posture of the Father." If you see the Father as being in a hand-locked position with clenched fists, then your posture relative to him will be one of begging or cajoling or worse still you may likely choose to do life indifferent to him. But if you see the father with open arms and open hands, then your posture will be one of gratefulness and faith, always receiving of his supply. Looking at Jesus as the visible representation of the invisible God, we see that his posture was one of open arms and open palms.
He was constantly inviting us in. People from different walks, he kept inviting them in. Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people. Mt 4:19 Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. Mt 22:9 Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Mt 19:14 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Jn 14:3 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Rom 8:32 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Jn 16:24 Bottom line is, the Father has more than enough love to give but more often than not we are limited by the low level at which we receive. Someone has described it as 'going to drink water from the river but using a straw'! The Father's gift of grace is supplied in abundance. It is our faith that limits the manifestation of his grace in our lives (sometimes the obstacle is our misunderstanding of faith as a concept). This can be a hard truth to wrap your head around especially if life has dealt you a bad hand. If life has been dealing you one death blow after another,which many of us can relate to, this may seem too far-fetched but that's the thing, 'his ways are higher than our ways'. It may also help to remember that these are truths we receive with our hearts. My challenge to you then is if you dare open your heart to receive from the Father, His love will soften your heart and cause you to experience true love and care in such a way never imagined possible. It will not matter the least how your direct circumstances look because you will have arrived. Grounded in his love. "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower
you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power
that comes from God." Eph 3:16-19) If anyone knows what it means to be dealt a bad hand, Jabez and his family did. His mother named after 'pain'. But Jabez chose to believe in the goodness of God and on that basis made a prayer asking God to bless him and expand his territory. What audacity!The culture then believed in fate but he dared to respond to God's goodness and the Bible refers to him as 'more noble' that his brothers. The Lord rewards us for receiving his goodness. Isn't that mind-blowing? "....how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" Rom 5:17
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