Not as easy as I thought...

After my last post, I've been trying, really trying, to open up more to other people. It's proven rather difficult - okay, really difficult! I grew quite accustomed to my nice, safe, hiding place behind the walls of a fortress I created to guard my heart. I've allowed God to get in, and that was an amazing feat - of course, it was all His doing! But God has been nudging me to let others in, too, my brothers and sisters in Christ, so that I can experience love and fellowship with them.

Well, it's not as easy as I initially thought. I've deattached myself from so many people in my life so that I wouldn't have to deal with the feelings that came with them. I retreated deeper within my "fortress", hoping, praying, that no one would care enough to look deeper than my surface smile. God has a funny way of working things out, though, and it usually includes something that I don't want to do. He's been placing people in my life that are making me open up, and while it's scary, it's also freeing. I praise Him for His perfect plan, for it's making me more like Jesus. By letting others in, I'm letting in the love of Jesus that flows through them.

What it really comes down to is love (doesn't it always?). God loves us, and He gave us other people so that we may love them and let them love us. God created Eve for Adam because it wasn't good for man to be alone. Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to (1) Love God and (2) Love each other as we love ourselves. God doesn't want us to hide from Him or from the people He's placed in our lives.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love...Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love another." - 1 John 4:7-8, 11

Whether you're running from love or not loving others, you are still not accepting and not showing the love that God gave us. He sent His son, Jesus, as the perfect act of love. In turn, we are to love Him back with all of our heart, and love those around us.