The Simplicity of Love

For the past few months I have spent Sundays attending the church I grew up in. My parents still attend and for some reason I felt God leading me back to place where I spent my childhood and youth. It has changed a great deal since I was a member. The congregation is smaller. It is also very diverse. The people that fill the pews every week have various backgrounds, ethnicities (accompanied by various languages) and economic statuses. The church has experienced numerous highs and lows over the past few years, but God has continued  to provide and their doors have remained opened.

As I sat in church this morning, I looked around at the people who were worshipping together, and then I noticed something beautiful. The group of people together in that room were all so incredibly different in so many ways,  but yet we were all joined together by one common purpose, by one unified Love. We are all brothers and sisters because of Christ and I thought to myself, "this is what heaven must be like". A group of people, who on a normal day might not come in contact with each other, but when it is time to worship our Creator, the bond could not be stronger.

So often I get caught up in my own bubble that I don't even take time to reach out to people that are outside of my inner circle. As I type this I realize how selfish I have been. I am  guilty of, at times, only looking at the outward appearance. But really, we are all so much alike. This morning reminded me of that. No matter our differences, we are bonded together by God's grace and love. We all struggle with different areas in our lives. So often I think we look at those areas in our "brothers and sisters" and dwell upon them rather than encouraging each other. And, please know that when I say "we", I really am talking about my own lack of compassion and love.

I guess to sum up this blog all I can say is that God is showing me so much about love. About how love goes beyond the exterior and that I hope I can say I lived my life being more concerned with loving others, than being loved.

This year is going to be such a journey...