Outside These Walls

I woke up this morning and I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to write a post about what I was going to read in Daniel. As I was sitting here in the church library back home, that was not on my heart. I tried, I wanted it to be. As I sat here thinking, what else am I supposed to write about today, it hit me.

I got to church with my mom in between services this morning. When we got there, the first service was just finishing. In our church, the sound system plays whatever is going on in the sanctuary. It's probably like that at a bunch of churches. Outside the walls of the sanctuary is was quiet. It was peaceful. I could hear a couple of people in the cafe sitting down and talking and enjoying a break from life.

You know how the end of services go, I could hear everything that was being said. The pastor was closing the sermon with a powerful prayer, an alter call, and encouraged everyone to love like Jesus does. All of that was happening inside the walls of the sanctuary.

As soon as those doors opened and the people poured out the cafe of the church got louder and louder. It was subtle at first, and once everyone came out, it was pretty loud. It was beautiful to hear. That is something that always happens at church! Inside the walls of the church we love on people, talk to everyone, introduce ourselves to new people, be nice, put on a smile, etc. Inside these walls we love like Jesus.

What happens as soon as you leave church on Sunday? It's back to life. It's back to not seeing everyone as the same beautiful creations from God. It's back to seeing somebody you don't know and not introducing yourself. It's back to letting little things make you angry. Basically, we get exposed as soon as we leave these walls.

I am not saying everyone does this because I know for a fact that not everyone does! It's just something that happens. I am just as guilty of it, I think of meeting new people at church and then I think of myself sitting in the coffee shop back at school...I go in there everyday and there are so many people who I don't know. Some of those people are the same people that I see every single day. Think about when you go back to work tomorrow, or for some go back to class at school. The temptation to fall into the trap of gossip and judgment hits us heavily. The opportunity also arises as well. An opportunity to be different, to not participate in talking bad about someone, to not have a bad attitude like everyone else, to be a light, and to love!

As I sit and listen to everyone talk, love, and encourage one another, image the power of that outside these walls. As humans we are meant for relationships with other people, it's how we thrive. I encourage you with that. Because how often do we sit in church on a Sunday, hear an amazing sermon, feel God do work in our lives and then quickly forget what had happened?

The way we love and encourage isn't just for Sunday's it's for everyday. I encourage you to think about what you are doing outside of these walls. The walls don't even have to be church walls, they could be the walls where you grow and where you experience God. Our identity lies in Christ, how are we going to act? Our we going to be who we say we are?

Outside these walls are what is most important...the opportunity to love one another just like how God loves us, by sending his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.