Love Being Loved

by Rabbi

“…and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” Hebrews 12:5-7

During my early childhood, love was not expressed to me in a healthy, supportive way so I have had to make knowing love a lifetime discovery. All too often, it is a very unfortunate story where love is absent in some way, at the most important time in of a person’s life --- childhood. Such rocky starts in life can cause love to become an elusive sentiment. Self-protection, distrust, and fear get in the way of maintaining loving and patient relationships. Consequently, we end up holding a hard stance where barriers are unconsciously established between ourselves and others, as well as with ourselves. Deeply hidden, our genuine and authentic selves can become unacceptable. Because love expresses a sense of belonging and acceptance, early rejection, abandonment, or a non-demonstrative love can take priority over the development of love. In our humanity, the mind functions from the past, making a “Now” present reality a non-reality. The question then becomes, how does a person break the cycle of loving in the present from a non-loving past? The heart must be softened to make room for love. The more room made for love to enter the heart, the further the past becomes. The adult selves of who we are will be able to hold love and be responsive to whatever love reveals. When a heart is open, it relaxes the entire being of a person. The body is not tense. The mind is less negative. Insight into life is transformed from impossible to “I’m-possible,” through Him who makes all things possible.

Romans 11:33 -12:1-2

Oh, the depth of the riches both wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

The sacrifice of being disciplined by the Lord’s love is knowing that His will is always transformative. As born-again children of an Eternal Father, we must know we live through spiritual worship because all things are from Him, through Him and are always returning to Him. There is no sacrifice without the end of it being returned to the One who is all wisdom and loves us the most. When a person decides that they no longer need to be in control of what is destined to happen, it is complete acceptance because of love. Love produces the discipline of submission. True submission is the love of obeying the Lord. Obeying the Lord is being joined to the Lord’s identity; an identity not formed by a painful or regretful past but a glorious life. A place in the Lord where Adam (male and female) is first created. All humanity is present in that “let us make man in Our image after Our likeness” moment. Time does not undo this.

Some may be new and unfamiliar with looking at salvation this way. Is not redemption returning? Is not the greatest salvation being joined to the image of the Lord? What do believers of Yeshua gain from his resurrection? The path between the heart and mind is more open when joined to the Lord’s love for us. We are able to love being loved because we accept the Lord’s forgiveness. You see, when a person is forgiven, every person (by way of offense) in is also forgiven. How can you live with unforgiveness when all is forgiven? When the Lord forgive we must remember it includes everyone within us and those in our lives. The power of forgiveness creates a loving habitation. A place that is more accepting, more caring, more willing to be with wherever is without needing to change it by force or will. A place where the Lord’s chastening produces the majesty of spiritual development and maturity.

To love being loved is an act of surrender. It is submission and service functioning simultaneously. Daily, we should meet life’s course faithfully through selfless service, according to the Lord’s will and purposes. When we serve, we experience the “no” sometimes to experience the greater authority in discipline. Aligning the heart with our Eternal Father through the sonship of Yeshua HaMashiach allows righteousness to be established. Righteousness is not a pass for grace to abound. Righteousness, Hebraically speaking, is a concept. Righteousness involves the character and nature of God is always focused on the His concerns.