"There are very, very few places where we have the freedom to fall on our face without fear. Most of us are just trying not to screw up, barely hanging onto the artificial composure of our false paper-confidence.

The best kind of community, I’d imagine, is the one that sort of allows you to laugh at yourself for being so dang weird, where you’re a little free to be a little loopy, and if you have to screw up, they first point fingers at themselves. We could take our time with each other, and we could disagree, and we could handle rebuke with grace, and we could rebuke graciously.

In that sort of place, we wouldn’t be so scared and stiff and twitchy, because you feel like the God-created you has been the real you all along, buried under layers of socially-driven anxieties that never worked anyway."

shrimpsays:

I want to enter into any situation with a ready heart to accept that I am not always right so not to deny opportunities for truth to enter my life. Many times I have stood unrelenting to a brother or sister out of bitter, stubborn conceit, that my will be accomplished rather than God’s. Sometimes I allow pride to direct my life. May the grace of God cover me, that I may remember where I came from and to always know where He is bringing me.

(via jspark3000)

Love & selflessness

I remember being all for self-help books, psychological theories, inspirational quotes. I wanted to read more and more; it just made so much sense and I wanted to become a better person. But I’ve realized that often what the world tells you is the opposite of the way God longs for you to be. They’ll tell you— “don’t waste time with anyone who doesn’t make you happy,” or that “ignorance is bliss.” The list of these super insightful, inspirational mottos to live by go on and on. But when you start to realize what it means to have a Christ-like character, God will ask you to give your love with no terms or conditions, just as He has for you.

My close friend and have encountered certain people who seem to abuse what we offer to them out of love. We offer them our open ears and warm hearts. We offer them acceptance and no judgment. But when they find a bit too much comfort in that, and stop reciprocating love and a considerate heart back, we start to feel like they’ve crossed the line. Our initial reactions are to wonder— “am I being a pushover” or “am I just too nice” or “do they even deserve it.” We start to question our own characters, and wonder if we need to be more careful. This world has molded our minds to be so selfish— we always need to be careful to “guard our hearts” and to be calculating with our love. God, however, asks us to learn to love those who are not easy to love, and to grow in these experiences. He asks us to use this wisdom to be there for those who need that nurturing and genuine care. And that’s not to act out of pity because we think we know better, but to just be wary of our own hearts. To change and develop the way we think and place it in line with God.

When you step back and really think about the things the world tells you, whether it’s a therapist or a psychology book or a famous quote, you’ll see how hard it is to be a Christian. In many, many aspects, you are to do the exact opposite of their theories. In this, it is my hope that we may remember how much more we might discover. This is how we can truly understand God’s love for us and learn how it was all meant to be.

It makes sense why people are so quick to just dive into our arms and how we tend to be, especially when we’re together. Although we’re still learning how to properly be what God intends for us to be, we’ve seen how hungry people are for genuine love and care. This world is in dire need of more hearts of maturity that reflects His love for us. Hearts that are soft and selfless.