what i seek

unity is a hard thing to foster and to develop; but that is what makes it the prize i seek. while some desire to control it, and all that does is makes it false and simply leads to a quick fall. unity must form from a inward desire to love and live in a redemptive state; in a redemptive relationship with another. what that looks like depends on the persons seeking unity and redemption. for me, it looks like a great community where people hold different views and conversations take place. for me, conversation is so different from dialog. dialog require two, one to speak and one to respond - but in my mind a conversation takes many voices and many different views, actions, desires, hopes, dreams, understandings and seekings. a conversation requires that we truly learn to listen to others, truly seek out other views and truly strive to gather the grace and love that is needed to accept others and their views.

over the past year, or so, i have listened to many people, some good and others not so good. the ones i keep coming back to are the ones who have more questions and less answer; yet ones that still seek to find an answer. i have come to ask questions that, at some level, seem to be ignored by some and those are the ones i strive not to follow. i have sought to be a unifying voice, and sometimes i have failed - but i keep coming back to that call, to unify. i am not perfect, and i do not seek perfection in others - but what i do seek is a heart for unity, a call to grace, a life in love and a stance in redemption. i seek to walk in christ, not in the theology [no matter who defines it] of people or traditions. to me, the person is far less the purpose of my faith, and far more someone i walk with in community. i am not seeking another who is perfect, but another who screws up and seeks redemption from others in unity.

over this past year i have seen, read, spoke with, and cried over the words of others - and i have repented over my own words. i am not seeking to judge, but i am seeking to ask that we seek unity in our walk, i ask that all parties concerned to let go and let God - to move in the spirit of grace and to seek the voice of redemption in our conversations. i have decided that i will not walk with others who desire division in a conversation, because that is too easy and too cheap. i desire to walk with those who seek unity, those who desire to be a calming voice in a conversation, those who wish to whisper when others shout.

this is my hearts desire, that we seek with each other in unity and not division; that we strive to come together and find common ground. i am not looking to build bridges, but i am looking at building a really cool coffee shop where we can hang out and just talk.