Disclaimer: I know I missed last month. It is not the first time this has happened and I doubt it'll be the last. No it wasn't because of the vlog. It's because I wanted to get this post right rather than rush something out there. Thank you for your patience. Blog begins below.
I have kept this blog going for seven years now. For at least once a month I've posted something here. Some posts have broken 100 views and some have only one. In my last post I explained all the reasons behind why I still keep it going even though not many read it. I'm not going into that again. Instead I'm going to explain something else. Something that I no longer can be silent about.
If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a Christian. A strong one. Well in the sense that my faith is the most important thing to me. How important? Well for starters, the girl I marry has to be Christian. Because if she doesn't share in the most important part of my life, that relationship isn't going to work. I guarantee it. Non Christians have questioned me because of this. They have said I'm narrow minded. But most of these people have not been in a relationship with someone who shares different beliefs. I have known people in these types of relationships and in my own personal experience, the majority did not last or they forsook the Christian life altogether. I can't speak for all people and I wouldn't want to. For me personally, that's the way it has to be.
When I started this blog in 2011, it was supposed to be a reflection of my year of serving the Lord. For the most part it was, but after that year ended, it contained less Christian related posts. This was because the full year of serving ended and rather than make a second blog, I figured I'd dump my thoughts here. Which I have done. But with how society is today, the explosion of social media, information flying faster than it can be fact checked, and so much crap being spewed by both sides of the chaos, I have done the thing I shouldn't have done which was say nothing. Every time a flash flood of something touchy, controversial, or plain wrong hits social media, I refused to get involved.
I didn't input my 2 cents because that's all it would've been worth I did it then. I have many friends on both sides of whatever storm comes next. I felt that if I made my opinion heard, I would lose some of them and that wasn't worth it for me. Another reason I did not speak was because I didn't have all the facts. Police shootings, Trumps policies, school shootings, etc. There are so many lies that are out there, it takes time and reason to obtain a truth. I would not enter a debate with out carefully discerning truth from lies, but it seems that all the careful planning to do so would cause an uproar among the most stubborn. Lastly, I know that certain things I have seen deeply anger me and responding to them while in anger would do more harm than good. So in many ways, it was good I said nothing...
...but I still failed. And by saying the things I'm about to say now will probably cause backlash. But that's okay because I'm doing this from the love of the depth of my heart and to maybe change someones life.
You see it's really hard to be a Christian in this day and age. More so for the people in other countries. What I mean by that (for those that live in a country built on freedom) is that there are too many Christians by name and not by faith who don't actually live by the teachings of Christ. They skew the word to their own advantage or misinterpret the bible. One of the most famous misquoted verses in the bible is 2 Timothy 6:10 which states "For the LOVE of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some, by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." It is misquoted by saying money is the root of all evil, when it is actually the love of money. Big difference. Not all, but a good deal who misinterpret this verse or others, don't take the time to try to understand God's word. Their foundation is weak. Cases like that can be destructive.
So why bring all that up? It's because people like that tend to give the people who truly love and follow Christ a bad name by lumping them with all the so-called Christians. So whenever I mention to some non Christians that I am in fact a Christian, they see me as a bigot, a hater of certain groups, and in some cases a disgusting person. If I try to share anything pertaining to my faith, often time persecution comes, even from those who once were Christians themselves. It just became easy not to say anything.
A quote that follows me around goes "God can use whatever you say to bring His Word to men, what He can't use is your silence. With that in mind I say this. I will never try to force anything on you. If I am talking to you about Christ, the bible, or anything along those lines, it's because I care about you that much. Because for me, knowing Christ is the greatest gift I have ever received. The road hasn't always been easy and has hit some critical moments, but what I have and have been through all of my years of walking with Him has been worth so much more than ever walking away because of things I don't agree with. "Your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me."
So if you are reading this and you don't know Christ, then I'm so sorry for not telling you about Him sooner. I could tell you countless stories of the amazing things He has done for me, the hardships He has brought me through, the trials He placed before me knowing I would overcome them. I can't exactly tell you why it makes sense in human terms because this is something you have to experience for your own. I've told different friends this over the years and one who couldn't understand/refused to believe, finally let go and let God. When he did that, everything I told him over the years made perfect sense to him. He was feeling the love and peace of God that can only be felt by those who take that leap of faith.
My other intent for doing this is because I am concerned about your future. In this next statement I'm only saying "if" to make a point. I don't believe the "if" exists here. For example, IF heaven and hell don't exist, if Christ is not real, and if God is a lie, then what is the purpose of this life? To be born, to be a kid, to grow up, graduate college, gain a career for the next 40-50 years, get married, have kids, retired, then die and...nothing? What a sad life that would be. If this was my state of mind, I'd look forward to the next thing more than focus on the now because that's what I'd be living for. And to have this short life on earth just to be "successful" and/or live a "happy" life only to have it all be for nothing to me is a tragedy.
This is the admission I make. I am a sinner. I make mistakes all the time. I'm flawed. I'm human. Being a Christian alone does not make me better than an unbeliever who also makes mistakes that may hurt someone else. Being a Christian does not give me a right to judge someone else for actions that are wrong or the bible claims are wrong. Being a Christian most certainly does not make me higher than anyone else. Being a Christian means to love thy neighbor as thyself.~Mark 12:31 To love my God with my whole heart, my whole soul, my whole mind, and my whole strength.~Mark 12:30 To love my enemy~Matthew 5:44. To submit myself to God and resist the devil~James 4:7. To deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him~Mark 8:34 And so much more.
I want to leave you with the final thought. John 3:16 declares : "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
It does not say that God only loved Christians. Or that God only loved good people, white people, rich people, humble people. NO. It says FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. Still don't get it? If anyone ever tells you that God hates homosexuals, they're wrong. If anyone ever tells you that God hates liberals, they're wrong. If anyone ever tells you that God hates the unbeliever, again they're wrong. God loves Every. Single. Person. What He does hate, is sin. He hates the sin of the unbeliever. He hates my sin. The sins I commit Every. Single. Day. But because He loves man so much, He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, as the single sacrifice, to cover Every. Single. Sin. Past. Present. And Future. All you have to do is believe. He gave you that choice. It's yours to make and yours alone. No matter which way you choose, I won't think of you any less. But I wanted to share this with you in the hope that maybe you could find what I have and see why I love it so much.
