The debate over which religion is the truth has raging for
centuries. Wars have been battled, people have suffered and history shows us
that the boiling pot of ‘religion’ has been the kindling that has fueled
unparalleled animosity throughout time. As humans we tend to compartmentalize
all we know about ‘religion’ into its own little box. Through our personal
experience, knowledge and lens we view this box, each one differently. Different
memories of the past have drastically shaped this box differently for each of
us. The trigger word ‘religion’ has neuronet links in our brain, meaning that
our minds will naturally piece together information in a trail, leading to predispositions,
indefinite and sometimes definite conclusions. Or, the thought trail may be
incongruous, leading towards something entirely different than the trigger
word. For instance, I may say the word banana,
and the word triggers thoughts of the
color yellow, food, hungry, what time is it?, I need to make dinner tonight, she
is coming over at seven, I wonder if she will wear her hair up or down, I like
it when she wears her hair up.
So, ‘religion’… what comes to mind? Some may have been
burned by a church, some may have witnessed extreme hypocrisy, some may have
been treated unfairly by nuns in a Catholic school, some may be appalled by the
violence and hate stemming from ‘religious beliefs’ in the Middle East. Others
may have had their lives drastically change for the better, been miraculously
healed, been released from an addiction, or have experienced a loving community
for the first time. Although we all share the title as human beings, we each
are so uniquely different that the word ‘religion’ does not trigger the exact
same thoughts for any of us. Disregarding the disparity of what the end-trails
of our mind’s behold from the prompt word religion,
we all come to an end nonetheless. What is your end?
I have examined my belief system, believing that a Jewish
revolutionary named Jesus Christ is the actual Savior of the universe, and I believe
this to be the truth, thus I have committed my life to serve Him. Not to say
that I have never questioned or doubted but I’ve realized in those times of uncertainty
sometimes it is just the wakeup call I need. It comforts me that the King I
worship has no crown. I find joy that he humbles the proud and exalts the
humbled. I love learning more about Him every day of my life. I have been
called to be a missionary for this season of my life, to be an ambassador for Christ
to the ends of the Earth. I am walking into this new life lead by the Spirit, a
new experience that truly is amazing. I have been called to simply live and share
my belief through action and deed of everyday life. I realize that other people
have absolutely no reason to believe what I believe in. My stomach repulses at
the thought of forcing my belief system upon other people, or scaring them into
believing what I believe by preaching fire and brimstone. God, and God alone,
is capable of stirring within a man’s soul and convicting his heart, I am
nothing more than His vessel. But simply by living and truly following what I
have committed my life to is amply sufficient. God doesn’t need me to do
anything, but I believe that He chose to use me for his purposes and will
continue to use me as long as I abide in Him.
It is a hard concept to allow myself to accept that not
everyone will believe what I believe in, and according to that belief, not
everyone will come to know what Life is, both before and after death. Jesus
warns his disciples that anyone who believes in Him will bring division into
the world.
Matthew 10:34-35
‘Do not think that I
have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a
sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against
her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.’
Jesus foretells warnings that family members will disagree
about beliefs, thus creating division in households. He goes on to talk about
how if you love your family more than you love God, you are not worthy to
follow Him.
Matthew 10:36-37
And a person’s enemies
will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me.
Christ says that He longs to be the utmost desire of our
lives and that loving Him is more important than anything. This does not mean
that we cannot love our family, it means that when our priorities are in order,
God taking all precedence, we will be able to love our family better than we
could imagine. Christ asks for us to abandon all else for Him so that we may
discover what life is truly about.
Matthew 10:38-
And who ever does not
take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will
lose it, and whoever loses his for my sake will find it.
Losing my life so that I may find it… this is the quest I
have set out on.
Despite the terrible conditions I have seen in the world I
have seen one common thread throughout every circumstance- Jesus Christ is the
one remedy. He represents universal hope. Without Him we have no true hope. No-one
can cure the pain, the hunger, hopelessness, and the aching world we live in
except for Him. Jesus lives vicariously inside of any person who will accept
and believe in Him through the Holy Spirit. I have done nothing good to change
the world, but it is only his Spirit inside of me that has brought Light into
the world. Believe me, no matter how dark and daunting situations are, His
light will always shine through it all and He will get glory. Every circumstance
I have experienced has been flipped on its head in that they look grim from the
outside, but truly amazing things are happening. God is changing hundreds of thousands
of lives every day through His body, those who allow Christ to work through
them. I have witnessed individual lives, communities and nations transformed in
front of my eyes.
I believe that I am nothing, but the One who I believe in is
everything. All good things come from Him. God, Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit- the holy tri-fecta Being that is transforming my life and perception of
reality daily.
This is what I believe.
