My beautiful people-
I'm a Young Life leader. I'm a sister. I'm a mentor. I'm a friend. I'm a teacher. I'm a daughter.
Regardless of who I'm around, I hear the same thing over and over, a diss on Christianity. Christianity is boring. Christianity is about being good. Christians don't have any fun.
The more and more I read the bible, the more this disturbs me. The same lie that tripped me up is trippin everyone else up, we're looking at human beings to determine the legitimacy of God, not the Man himself.
Fact: Jesus was a radical dude.
Fact: Jesus broke all the rules.
Fact: Jesus sought out the poor, lost, sinners and crippled.
Fact: Jesus possessed average looks yet everyone wanted to be with him.
I think our twisted view of Christianity is what keeps us from faith, not our actual being. Let me break it down, the reason you are not living for Christ is because you are looking too much at the person in the mirror and not the face of your creator.
"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot."
-Romans 8:6 & 7
I never truly understood what being a Christian was about, I didn't get His trip to the cross was for my freedom not an act to guilt me into following Him.
"For the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
-Romans 8:2
If you possess the same mindset I did for years you believe that living for God is like preparing a resume of good deeds to eventually produce when arriving at heavens gates in hopes that you pass the test. My people I didn't get His love was a gift that had no requirements.
Reality check: He doesn't require church. He doesn't demand prayer. He doesn't require good deeds.
Where do we get this perception that God is a like a school principle? An authority figure you want to avoid at all costs because spending quality time with them usually implies we did something wrong.
Does he discipline? Yes because He loves. Do we face hardship? Yes because He wants to bring us closer to him. Do we get everything? No because He knows what is best.
He does not lecture but pulls us into a comforting hug. He does not put us down but lends us a hand to lift us off the ground.
We forget that He loves. He gives. He delights. He dances. He is faithful.
Constant prayer. Willing obedience. Viewing discipline as love. Strong faith. Perseverance in hard times. Thankfullness in the midst of hardship. These come when you understand His love for you. A majority of my years as a "Christian" were spent in what I call a cycle. My attempt to be a good Christian was out of guilt and a feeling of duty therefore my good behavior was short lived and I continuously found myself in a place of helplessness, confusion and questioning His existence because I kept messing up.
God intended trials to be used for good, pain for joy, hardship for character. Our emotions, experiences and relationships with others often cloud our ability to see God for who He truly is.
Truth: He promises us a life with Him. To change us to be like Him. To teach us how to love like Him. My faith did not come over night. My faith came when I stopped trying to be the "perfect" Christian I saw at Sunday service. I refuse to put on a front because truth is, I'm a mess but it has become a testimony, not a stain I try to get out in the wash.
Jesus was a wild dude who didn't follow the rules yet experienced no regret and no sin, who was rewarded and blessed by His heavenly father. No other relationship is selfless and ruled by grace. No other love demands nothing yet gives everything. If I'm going to take a risk sacrificing everything for a heavenly God, it's going to be for the one who promises to bring us life to the full. Considering I would never take back the day I chose to be a radical, I'd say I made the right choice.
"For in this hope we are saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do ot see, we wait with patience." -Romans 8: 24 &25
Praise Jesus for the Lord is good.
-Ellie
