What force awakens?

What is your controlling force?  With all the hype of the "force awakening", I wondered about what "force" may have the most influence in our lives today.  If we really stop to think about it, there is some type of "force" which motivates us each and everyday.  Sometimes it is the desire to accomplish some huge task which has been kind of left undone in our lives for way too long - like cleaning out our closet or those kitchen cabinets.  At other times, it is something more personal and kind of close to our heart - like seeing the fulfillment of a life-long dream.  A force is merely the physical power or strength possessed by a person to accomplish something.  If we stop long enough to consider what "force" is "awake" in us today, we might just determine the "force" is one of our own making and not quite what God intends for our lives - because love for Jesus is to be the dominant "force" in our lives!

You see, the controlling force in our lives is the love of the Anointed One. And our confession is this: One died for all; therefore, all have died. He died for us so that we will all live, not for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose from the dead. Because of all that God has done, we now have a new perspective. We used to show regard for people based on worldly standards and interests. No longer. We used to think of the Anointed the same way. No longer. Therefore, if anyone is united with the Anointed One, that person is a new creation. The old life is gone—and see—a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:14-17 VOICE)

We don't live for ourselves any longer - so if we are not being controlled by the "force" of Jesus' love within, we might need to have a readjustment!  If you think of a force as that which gives momentum to the object under the control of that force, it becomes pretty apparent why we want the love of God to be the "force" by which we are propelled!  In fact, any other "momentum" is just going to propel us in some direction, but it may not be the direction we ultimately want to be going.  A good thing to remember about the "force" of God's love within is that it isn't going to coerce us to follow it.  God's love is compelling, but it isn't manipulative or given to coercion. His love is put out there and then he waits to see if we will move toward it, embrace it as it embraces us, and then allow that love to become the dominant "motivator" in our lives.

The "force" which actually brings change into the lives of all who put their trust in it is really not a "force", but a relationship.  We don't enter into some "mythical" place of super-human power when we come into relationship with Jesus, but rather a "super-human power" invades every aspect of our mind, emotions, and spirit.  We find a new motivation for living which is not something from within, but is influencing our thoughts, responses, and our connection with others and God himself.  A force "awakened" within is likely to be something we yield to, is it not?  We find that thing stirring within us and we begin to think upon it more and more until it kind of pulls us into another "dimension" of living.  If that "force" is God's Spirit and his never-ending love, we are likely to be pulled into a dimension of living which is quite rewarding!

If we are to truly understand the "force" at work within each of God's children, we must begin to look at life from a new perspective - not our own, but God's.  He sees things a whole lot differently than we do most of the time.  We are limited by what we have seen in our past, what we behold at the present moment, and even what we can imagine for the future.  His "force" within isn't "subject" to those limitations, although we often hold back that force within because we are unwilling to be unleashed from that "finite" perspective.  As I have often said about our past, it is the one thing which seems to be the anchoring force we all hold onto on occasion - not willing to let it truly go.  The past can be the dominating force for many of us, awakening time and time again, until we somehow pay more attention to it than the present, and even to the exclusion of any hope for the future.

The force we listen to and allow to be awakened within us will eventually produce the "outcome" that force is capable of producing.  If that force is God's love, we are more likely to be urged out of the past and into the present, with an appreciation for the newness of life God has provided in the present.  Remember this - whatever force we allow to be awakened will eventually become the object of our attention. The force we make the object of our attention will eventually become the motivating force by which we allow every subsequent action to form.  If that force is God's love, the actions are sure to be trustworthy, for our good, and for the good of others.  If that force is some hold we make with the past sins of our lives, the actions produced will closely mimic the limits of those actions and the outcomes produced will leave us disappointed.

What force awakens in you today?  Is it the one true "force" which can give you clear perspective and drive the change within which will produce the outcomes which clearly show God's love is alive and well within you?  If not, perhaps today is the day for a change of "force"!  Just sayin!