Motives

I'm always pondering the hard questions about my faith. Like, homosexuality (the questions that lie within), what about terrorists and evil? Why are we still here if we are so terrible? There are others but you get the gist. Questions that people love to ask but won't let us answer, yeah, those types of questions.

Christianity is becoming somewhat of a hated thing around the world. It isn't a surprise, we shouldn't react as if we didn't know it would happen. Part of it is the Church's fault for not stepping up and being what we should be in the name of Jesus to the communities around us and the world. However, I think the other part is that people aren't educated about what following Jesus is really supposed to look like. Also, on another note, many Christians are not even very educated on what that looks like.

Many people feel that it is just ritualistic with no attachment of emotion or intellect. Simply take the communion, go to church, pray at church, and you have gone through something like a car inspection; legal to have your salvation pass for at least another week. Others think it is something of a brainwashing as if since birth we are fed all of these religious sayings and doctrines that may or may not be true thus we cannot study this faith for ourselves and if we do God might strike us down because we went out of line. Some think it's pure bigotry made to look like religion. Others think we started to believe this way so that somehow we might be in a higher class of society able to stick our noses up at anyone who does not believe the same as us.

So I have asked myself the hardest question over and over to myself: What are my motives for believing in Jesus? Well it can't be for high class, I am called to deny myself because myself is sick. It wants what the world wants, it wants money, fame, and the superficial love of millions. Jesus has called me to deny this because there is something worth more than gold, more infamous than worldly fame, and a love that goes deeper than the lowest parts of the ocean.

What are my motives for following Christ? What has convinced me of his power? Why have I invested so much? Well I will tell you. Because God said "see for yourself." I mean I went the other way, I had my teenage moments, I had a taste of the other path, I ran through the muck the world tells us is fun (not as deep as some, but still, enough). When the "fun" ended I felt it again, as if there was a storm drain in my gut flushing all the good feelings and stuff away. I felt the void in my body, just hollow, being filled with many temporary things. But is my motive to constantly feel good about myself? No.

I tell you about the other path because I want you to know I haven't always been influenced by church and godly people. I saw for myself, even from where I stood in the shallow end, that I didn't want to go any further. My God is a God who allows us free-will and he took that chance on us because he does not want us to love him because we HAVE to love him. I chose that path for the moment and I will never again want that path.

I suppose my motive for following Christ is because against all odds I am free to love with a huge love because I have been unchained from the wall of bitterness and anger since Jesus took that all away from me on the cross so that I can have eternal salvation and communion with my God and Savior. The more I experience the love of God and his people the more pure love I see and feel. Because this love gives sacrificially and allows me to do the same.

So, what's my philosophy about dealing with homosexuals? Love them, because Jesus does. What about terrorists and people of the like? It's hard, but love them, because while they live they may find salvation. Why are we still here if we are terrible people? Because God chose to love us despite our constant betrayal of him. Because mankind is not our enemy, Satan is our enemy, and our quarrel is with him, but he will be crushed and all of these things will pass away and something new and beautiful will grow from it's ashes.

And that's pretty awesomazing.

All to God.