*GROAN*
"I am a Christian."
You know, that sentence should really not make me cringe because yes, I am a Christian too, Catholic to be precise and no, please do not bring to me your argument that "Catholics are not Real Christians."
Dear God, no.
But every time I hear/read/see that sentence, it's usually prefaced by something like "I am offended and upset because you have said something that is xxxxxxxxxx and against my Christian beliefs."
And as much as it pains me to admit it, I usually see that used by the intolerant and the judgmental and they kinda miss the point when they proudly claim they are "Christians."
When I say "I am a Christian, I:"
- try to look at every person with love, understanding and respect, no matter how difficult it may be, no matter how they may have hurt me, no matter how personally repugnant their beliefs are to me.
- take a stand for what's right but I also weigh each decision I make with the scales of compassion, mercy and justice.
- do not force my religion or my faith on others. How you believe and choose to worship in God is your choice and your faith, just as I've made mine. If you choose not to believe in God, then that is your choice too - I believe that one does not have to believe in God to be a decent, moral person. In fact, the atheist or agnostic who's done his best simply to be a decent human being may yet well get to heaven before I do and boy, won't they be suprised?
- learn to laugh. Even when life's at it's hardest. Because the deep well of my faith is also the source of my joy.
- try to be Christ-like. And guess what? Jesus wasn't a remote, stern figure. For the brief time He was here on this earth, He was human as the rest of us were - He laughed, He cried, He doubted, He despaired, He stood firm, He had faith, He believed and He loved, most of all. He was a son and a brother and a beloved friend and a Teacher and a Healer. And in essence, He saw the crazy that was going on, the Rules that people tried to keep and how people lost sight of the essence of these Rules and He made us remember that essence. And again, that essence is Love.
I hate it that I can see people claiming to be of this beautiful, loving faith and completely failing to live up to its Teachings. I am so tired of seeing this endless hate and judgment and bias from people that are so secure that this is part of being "Christian."
It's not. It never was. Go open up a Bible and don't quote the passages to me about "Having no other God" or whatever verse you think proves your point. I've read that Book cover to cover - I know those lines but it's not the passages that are important. It's the meaning and the essence behind them. The Bible is not your Rule Book or Manual.
Think about every story in That Book, every tale of family and suffering and envy and greed and passion and lust and love and pain and ambition. Think about the bad and good decisions the people in those stories made. Just think.
And maybe, just maybe, if you think good and long and hard enough, you'll finally understand that it's not about the Rules.
It is and always will be about Love.