I’ve only been a “real” Christian for about 8 years but I’ve
believed in God all my life. My parents didn’t force us into church and I’m
very thankful. I’ve watched many of my friends who were forced to attend church
only to resent those they sat in pews with. They were constantly told what they
were doing that would cause them to go to hell. Who would want to sit through
that? Teaching through fear; how does that really work?
As an adult I chose to attend a church of non-denomination.
It was there that I learned the real steps of being a Christian. I wasn’t told
how I was going to go to hell, instead I was taught how to live my life on a
daily basis the way God would want me to live it. I was taught to be
thoughtful, considerate, giving, hopeful, faithful, happy and peaceful. I was
taught how to have joy no matter my circumstances. I can’t say that it has
always been easy. I was certainly a baby when it came to being a Christian but
over the years I feel as if I’ve grown to a walking, maybe not running, adult.
I trust God day in and day out with all of my circumstances. I trust Him to
meet my needs no matter how big or how small. I try my best to be a light to
everyone I come across, no matter how trivial. I put my shopping cart back,
pick up trash that’s not mine, help an elderly person to their car and give to
the ministries that speak to me. (I’m not saying any of this for a pat on the
back but an acknowledgement that I’m trying my best to be godly.) My spouse and
I pray before every meal, no matter where we are and we respect each other’s
personal time for spiritual renewal.
I feel as if I have
an advantage of being a Christian “my way.” I don’t focus on the legalities
that have kept “Christians” in their box, instead I focus on the relationship
that I have with Christ.
As with any relationship, it’s imperative that I have trust
with the Father as well as clear communication. I mostly communicate through
the Holy Spirit. I often have this knowing about what’s right and wrong;
therefore I don’t have to see it displayed as rules. For example, God’s law
doesn’t say that I shouldn’t throw my trash out the car window while driving
down the road however, I have decided that my Father wouldn’t be happy if I did
that to his earth. Because of my relationship with Him I want to avoid anything
that would make Him unhappy; not because of a rule or law.
When Jesus was on this earth He focused on two very
important points for God’s people. He focused on love for the Father and love
for our neighbor. He did not focus on the points of not stealing, not lying or
not murdering one another. I believe in Jesus’ mind, as long as you had love
for the Father and love for others, the remainder of the “rules” would take
care of themselves. If you love, regardless of who it is, you will always want
to do the right thing. If you love your neighbor, you will not steal from him
nor will you covet his things because you will be happy for him. Love takes care of everything else.
Many of the religious
Christians I know, as well as the ones I’ve come across but don’t know
personally, focus on the “rules” of being a Christian instead of loving others.
Many will keep themselves inside of a box where it’s clear on how to be in
God’s favor (in their minds). This box often holds all the rules and
regulations they have read about or heard about all of their years. This box
also holds other religious Christians with the same thoughts and commitment to
the rules and they never challenge each other. When those “rules” are
challenged these religious Christians become unloving, judgmental and offended.
They often fall back to the Old Testament where clear rules are put in place so
they can feel successful, regardless of how they feel inside. However, the
problem lies with how most religious Christians pick and choose the rules and
regulations that fit their specific opinion on a particular issue. They often
forget the two most important “rules” that Jesus taught and that was LOVE.
When Jesus discussed LOVE, He didn’t give specific rules to
be followed while loving. He didn’t say that a man should only love a woman, a
woman should only love a man, one should love their parents different than they
love their neighbor, you should only love your immediate neighbors to your left and right but not the ones that live across from you…hopefully you get my
point. Jesus taught God’s people TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER and TO LOVE GOD.
When we don’t live our life with love what good can we do
for God’s people? If someone doesn’t love God then how are they going to make a
positive difference in other’s lives? If they don’t love others, how are they
going to be a blessing? Those that don’t love others are often unhappy and very
unproductive when it comes to making a positive change in God’s people. They
often find themselves in conflicts with others, unhealthy relationships, an
unsatisfied job or they may be severely depressed and suffer from feelings of hopelessness.
They may have followed all of Moses law but they’ve never mastered the most
important aspect of being a Christian; loving God and loving their neighbor.
When you love you will see the positive side of situations.
You will go out of your way to make another person happy or comfortable. When
you love you can bring light to those that are suffering with hopelessness and
you can change their life for the better. When you love with all your heart in
the most honest way you can, you WILL make a difference in God’s people.
When you look at loving and not loving, which would you
rather have? Most would answer that love is the way to go and yet, they don’t
live it. They choose to stick with the rules because that is a sure bet to heaven
(in their religious mind), when in reality they don’t have the complete love of
the Trinity inside of them. True love will show the truth of God’s word. Let’s
take the example of women preachers. So many people have been taught that women
should not preach at all because of something that they read in the bible.
We’re not going to even get into the discussion of what was really meant by
that passage but instead I want to take the realistic approach to women
preachers. If a woman preacher is able to bring others to Christ, change their
life and make them a solider in God’s war, then why is that wrong? Are we
really supposed to believe that those women are going to hell? Are we really
supposed to discount what they say about God’s love because of their anatomy?
Maybe one of the problems in today’s society is our obsession with anatomy…
I am in a committed marriage to my best friend. As a team,
we worship God together. God is the center of our relationship, of our home and
of our life plans. Our relationship with God individually allows us to love one
another completely, without judgment, without conditions and without
unrealistic expectations. Our love allows us to be joyful, hopeful, and a light
to others. Our love, along with God’s love, motivates us to teach others about
the amazing relationship they can have with God. Our love of God and of each
other helps us make a real difference in God’s world, God’s army and God’s
people. I pray that more people will find the true love of God, a true
relationship with Him and a true love in a life partner. I pray that they can
take their joyous life and spread it to others. I pray that more people will
make a commitment to someone just as God has made a commitment to them. What a
world this would be if we learned to focus on LOVE and not rules. What a world
this would be if Christians allowed LOVE to lead them instead of the rules.
What a world this would be if people focused on making their lives more loving
instead of focusing on the “sins” of others.
What a world this would be if all Christians got outside of
their box of rules and regulations and tried LOVE instead.
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