Thoughts from my good friend Fernando Krusher Souza. Fernando can be contacted through email: aigrejaembauru@gmail.com.
Sunday afternoon. The house is quiet now, filled with that nice silence that comes after a good party. I still have a smile on my face and a warm heart from what happened last night.
I got home, tired from the day, and when I turned on the living room light, there they were. My wife, with that knowing look I know so well, my daughters, my son-in-law, and a handful of those friends who are closer than brothers. A “Happy Birthday” sung in chorus that took me by surprise and, I confess, brought tears to my eyes.
Today, thinking about it calmly, what really hits me is this good feeling of being loved.
We spend so much of our lives trying to prove our worth. We chase after success, recognition, a pat on the back for a job well done. And all of that is fine, but it’s a kind of affection that is conditioned on our performance.
What I felt yesterday was different. No one there was celebrating my achievements. They were celebrating my existence. Simple as that. The love that filled that room wasn’t a prize for good behavior. It was a gift. It was free.
And in my walk with Jesus, I’ve understood that this is the best picture of God’s love we can have in a practical sense. We often think of God’s love as something abstract, a nice theory. But yesterday, I saw that love with skin on. I saw it in my wife’s eyes, in my daughters’ hugs, in my friends’ laughter. God shows Himself through the people He places around us.
My “church” was all there, in my living room. It didn’t need a temple, loud music, or a sermon. The worship service was the preparing of food in the kitchen, the casual conversations, the sincerity of the affection. That right there was the church in its purest form: a community of people who love each other and take care of one another.
And today, with my heart still warm, a sentence from the apostle John makes more sense than ever: “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:12).
What a profound truth. We don’t see God, but we can see Him acting, dwelling, and revealing Himself in the love we show for one another. That love in my living room wasn’t just a human feeling; it was God Himself making Himself present, becoming visible through my people. His love is made complete, not in me alone as an isolated individual, but in the community we form—in our mutual care and unconditional affection.
What a birthday present. And what an extraordinary truth to live by every day.
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