As you may have seen in the video that I posted in my last blog, my team and I ended up in Langkawi, which is an island right underneath Thailand in the most north west portion of Malaysia, staying in an air bnb. We had literally one of the coolest people as our host. He was an extremely humble, artistic, cultured Egyptian man who was currently in the process of filming a movie on “finding God.” He told us that he had traveled to India, to live there for a year, just to learn more about the Hindu religion and other predominant religions in India. Now he was in Malaysia doing what he could to really dive into the Muslim faith, through talking to the locals, and through learning more about it.
He told us that he doesn’t believe in, or really even LIKE any sort of religion, because of the division and judgement that it sometimes can cause. Accurate. It was actually an awesome way for my faith to be tested, and for us to be able to give him truth about who Jesus is. I have had that thought many times before, that I don’t like religion. It reminds me all the time about the pharisees in the bible, who even Jesus himself didn’t approve of. RELIGION makes me think of people who can under the umbrella of their belief systems cause hurt and pain to others, because their belief is the right way, therefore making anyone else automatically less valuable then them, or in some extreme cases, even worthy of murder. Religion makes me think of people full of pride and arrogance based on what they DO, and how hard they try to be worthy enough. But you see, that is the complete opposite of what Jesus speaks about. When I get told that because I believe in God, it must mean that I am super religious, I cringe. Because that’s hardly the case. I simply know that I was created and brought into a world that fell to the deception of evil. Darkness does exist, I see it when I hear about RELIGIOUS groups killing others because it’s what they feel God wants them to do. I see it in rape, and sickness, and poverty. It’s in the drive by shootings done by people who are so desperately in need of the one thing that we all crave, ACCEPTANCE. I see it in mental illnesses, like anxiety and depression, where there are people everyday that are left feeling helpless, because we are a people so quick to judge, and so quick to sweep things under the rug that we don’t understand or know how to fix. I see it in drug and alcohol abuse, or abusive controlling relationships, or even just in loneliness! I see it in myself, in the people that I’ve hurt, and the insecurities I have carried over the years.
This world is broken, it doesn’t take much to see that. So because of that truth, it simply makes the truth of who Jesus is, that much more real to me. I am not religious, but I do believe in the fact that in our brokenness, we did need someone to love us enough to give us a promise for a better future and life. We all need hope. We all need someone to love and accept us (there’s that word again). This world doesn’t need religion, it needs the power of a our creator come down in perfect human form in order to simply see that we are worth fighting for and worth being LOVED. That’s what we shared in with him, that God is simply love, and he is in your heart. The truths that stand out to me are that this world was created, and that it also needs a heartbeat and a reason to keep going. That’s who Jesus is. He is love. So, yeah if someone were to ask what my religion is, I simply say “Jesus”, because I truly am no better than the next person. We are all on the same playing field, and that’s one of the things I love about that guy. He is just, and he is love. It’s as simple as that.
My heart was so full, getting to share that with Joseph, to hopefully put another taste in his mouth about “Christianity”. I am hoping that we were able to shed some light on a very touchy subject called religion. I hope also, to those of you reading this back at home that this also made it more clear what I believe, and something resignated with you in your heart. It’s crazy, when you step away from the ideas that religion puts in your head and you simply start viewing our creator as your “go to”, your “right hand”…lol yes I did just quote Drake. Sue me. 😉
