It’s a Matter of Faith

Faith is a tricky thing. For some the label Christian is something that they seek, and for others it is a label they run from. Some people will hear that someone is a Christian and assume that they are self righteous and pious. There are also those that hear that someone is not Christian or a faithful person and assume that they are food for the devil and not worth even a conversation. Here is the thing; God has put a choice before us, His recipe is in the bible, it's just that some tend to miss read the recipe, and even though they are doing it wrong they are not willing to change how they do things.

 There are a lot of good and bad people that carry the Christian badge. Some Christians think that they should beat people over the head with their bible knowledge and share their opinions on what is worthy faithfulness and what is not. But there are also those Christians that walk quietly in their faith and live as examples of what is good in our world. These are not perfect people (nor do they pretend to be) that want to show you how to be perfect, but somewhat broken and fragile people that want to show God their love and respect by treating His other children with love and respect.

 I believe those Christians that look for your faith flaws and attack you lose their audience. Years ago, I was part of a group of women that had a play group and would have random workshops of an empowering nature. There would be quest speakers and discussions that helped young mothers connect with each other. It was a win/win for me, it got me and my two youngest out of the house and I was also able to interact with other women.

 At one point the women that ran this group decided that they would write a letter to the television station that was running Ellen Degeneres' sitcom. Ellen had just announced that she was gay and these women felt that she had no place on television. They wrote up a petition and brought it to our group and started passing it around for all of us to sign. I was sweating bullets, I did not want to sign the petition and I did not want be bullied or judged about it, but I also knew that if I did not speak up I would have a lifetime of regret. So when the petition came to me I gently said "I cannot sign this, I do not feel that Ellen will change who she is or how she lives her life if she is attacked for her choice." The room went quiet; the group was not expecting anyone to disagree with their views. The women felt like their faith was everyone's faith, but it was not. It was awkward and uncomfortable speaking up, but I shared my faith and felt better for it.

 The lesson I took away from that experience was that not everyone will live out their faith the same. Some of us will stumble and struggle more, some of us will make right choices and some of us wrong ones. The most important thing is that we keep talking about faith. We want to live with open arms, excepting that while our neighbor may not walk in his faith on our path, when he walks up to the pearly gates Jesus will be there waiting to talk with him about his life and his choices. That is God's recipe, no judgment, just love. Living with an open heart and excepting that no matter how we set out in life His will, will be done. It's all just a matter of faith.