"...let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives."

i would like to know...

why is it that within the body of Christ we don't love more freely? more willingly? more passionately? with just a little more abandon? why don't we dare to love each other with EVERYTHING that we have?

are you ready for something?

i DARE you.

i dare you to ACTUALLY love your neighbor as yourself. to love strangers enough, that you HAVE to share God's redeeming love with them. to love your brothers and sisters in Christ (even the ones you don't LIKE) enough that it doesn't matter whether or not you like them anymore, or whether or not they're DIFFERENT (gasp!), or how badly they screw up. that WHEN someone screws up (because, hello, we will) you have the grace to show them love in abundance. and i dare you...to serve your brothers and sisters, your parents, your authority figures, your best friend, your worst enemy, a complete stranger...EVERYONE...in the manner that Christ would because you just love them that much.

i dare you to have a love for every individual that overflows from an overwhelming gratitude and love for Jesus Christ and all He has done.

just at least for a while, can we try out NOT being the body of Christ that is known for being too lazy to care about genuinely wanting to KNOW and LOVE others? the one that has a reputation for just mindlessly throwing out memory verses, but not putting any heart into real relationships with the people of the world whose lives are, let's face it, NO MORE OR LESS OF A MESS THAN OUR OWN? instead, let's be honest with each other, admit we're messy. and let's not be afraid to help each other clean up every once in a while.

ready? GO.