Nothing ever seems to work the way you Thought

When I first started attending church, I had in my mind how it was supposed to be.
This came from years of attending church as a child.
But with this came all of my baggage.
Rarely do we bring the best things of Christianity to the church, but the not so best.

For me it was the fear of people.
In the church I was raised in people didn't treat each other well.
In fact, they were pretty rough on each other and so I always attended with one eye open. And while that changed over time, I still didn't bring my best.

I should have been that voice for Change in that area, not stopping THEM from doing wrong, but by my doing right.
How much better would it have been for the church and I, if I would have dropped the baggage and loved people sooner?

While the church may never work the way you thought, it works.
But it works best, when you bring your best.

Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV) ¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ¹⁴ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Rather than focus on what we leave behind, I wonder, what best can you bring that makes the church better?