Authentic Community

This authentic community thing is more than just something that I want to talk about. In fact it what gets me out of bed every morning. What the creator God made me for. It is real to me in a way that the passion of my walk with Christ is all tangled up in it. When I look at the early church versus what I see in the Western 21st century church I can't help but to question what happened. It spurs me on to living a a manor worthy of how scripture has called us to treat each other. When I get to the end of my life, no matter how imminent or distant that may be, the last thing I want is for people to question if I cared or not. Because I do. Jesus made it a point to tell us that it was one of the two most important things He was asking of us. Some may think that I am putting too much emphasis on loving others and not enough on a personal walk with God. That I'm putting others before Him. I have struggled with this myself. As I have wrestled through the issue I realize that I am not capable of one without the other. Without a relationship with God where I am constantly learning more and more about His character, I will surely fail at caring for others. In fact, it has been made very clear to me that I'm not good at it at all without my focus and intention on Christ alone. As Ebert Brown I tend to get my feelings hurt easily. Wear my heart on my sleeve. Say all the wrong things. Care too deeply. Be a doormat. Expect too much. This could go on, it really could. You don't have to look far into my past relationships to see that I'm a screw up. Relationships on any level are complicated and difficult. They are a mess. Thank goodness for GRACE. Trying hard enough to get it right isn't going to get me anywhere but trying harder. Falling back on the grace of my Savior will help me realize my shortcomings and allow me to grow. Oh to love others the way that He loves me. For it to be that unconditional. To live out Romans 12:9-21, not just pretending, but really loving. Showing genuine affection. Outdoing one another in showing honor. Helping when people have need. Being happy and mourning with those who are doing the same. And as long as it is up to me, living in harmony with others. To walk so closely with the Spirit that I automatically treat others with the traits of Galatians 5:22-23; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Acting in humility, considering others more important than myself.

No matter how hard this thing gets, I will not back down from my passion to love.