Privilage

I've been thinking a bit recently about how incredible my church is and how much we have and how easy it is to take for granted.
We've just been to London. Not sightseeing, but being part of the sights for a day. Why? So that we can tell people about Jesus. We walked - on the road - through some of the busiest streets of London in the middle of a Saturday in summer. Right from Hyde Park Corner to Trafalgar Square. Singing, dancing, shouting, praying, mexican-waving. Following this extraordinary outburst of colour we took over Trafalgar Square for the whole afternoon. Dancing, shouting, talking, singing, laughing, drama-ing...all so that people could have a chance to hear about Jesus and all that he has done and can do for them.
To anyone who has never heard this it might seem like front-page news. Sadly to some in my church it has become almost routine and they have lost the excitement and joy that comes with throwing themselves wholeheartedly into something like that.
Dear God, may I never get that boring. Save me from my own passive nature that I may never take for granted the opportunities that you give us. Keep my heart from shutting out all that is new and hiding behind it's own insecurities. Keep me sensible to the amazing privilage that you have given us. To be those who can carry your name at these times in these places.

Love

I was listening to someone talking on Monday evening about love. He was saying that in his experience of building church and winning people for Jesus it was a case of just needing to love them and then God would do the rest. That if people had other agendas than simply loving people life started to get difficult and complicated.
Sounds profound I guess. But I think he's right.
It made me think back to the young women that I've helped to find their way in Jesus and to find their place within the church. I'm certainly not perfect and I'm sure I misunderstood them more times than I care to remember. I'm also sure that I loved them very much indeed - and still do. I'd do pretty much anything for all of them.
I still maintain that the fact that the majority of these young women is still in the church has an awful lot to do with God and not very much to do with me at all. God did a lot whilst I stood in the corner with a proverbial open mouth. I just loved them - very imperfectly.
Thank Goodness that the Grace of God is the element within our individual and corporate walks with Him that makes the difference.