Christianity is not a t-shirt.
It is not a fitting room.
It is not a new pair of shoes you try on and cast to the side when they don't fit.
In this society of instant gratification, we have limitless possibilities. We can go anywhere, be anything, learn any language, travel to any country, if only we have the resources and time to do so. Our society is an open minded one, for the most part, and I do believe that is a good thing. I believe that a country that cannot change with the times will condemn itself to fall behind in the global scheme of time.
As Americans, we have access to the most options. We can choose college, cars, cell phones, shoes, neighbourhoods to live in, etc. We can even "choose" a religion.
A religion? Really?
Apparently so...in a class I recently took this past semester, we had a Spiritual Diversity project. This involved us exploring a religion other than our own, and then explaining it to the class as it relates to our future professions (counseling). While I chose to cover Hinduism, several other students in the class chose to cover Christianity (with a majority covering Catholicism, and one covering a Protestant denomination).
I wanted to bang my head on a table the 99% of the time.
Christianity is not something you try on like a t-shirt, to be discarded when it doesn't fit and you find something else that does. Now, I may be offending some of my readers, but the point of this blog is not to be politically correct. It isn't to ensure people are comfortable with what I write; the most thought provoking and influential things I've ever read have NOT been either of those things.
Please let me explain Christianity as I understand it.
Christianity is orthodox, meaning it as a religion prides itself on the correct doctrine. The heart of Christianity is not about whether you are Catholic or Protestant. It is not about whether you wear skirts only or never cut your hair. It does not concern itself with whether you pray to Saint Teresa the Little Flower or not.
Christianity IS about a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible (in all its many versions) states that in order to be SAVED, one must believe and confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead. But what does that mean? What does it MEAN to be saved?
Salvation is a bit more complicated. I hear people often state that "they're saved." To a non believer or someone who isn't familiar with Christianity, that doesn't make any sense. Again, I'm going to explain what salvation means in my own words. Salvation means that you have confessed that Jesus is Lord (read=savior of the world who died for sins, which are wrongs committed by humans such that we might have eternal life with him in heaven). That makes you a Christian, and means that you are saved from eternal damnation (read=eternal separation from God the Father; more on the trinity in a later post).
The rest is secondary. Yes, as believers you should read your Bible, gather together, pray for each other and your enemies, etc. I'm sure someone has compiled a list of things we should be doing as Christians. But I do want you all to know that Christianity is not about the pope or your pastor, it is about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As my high school Spanish teacher said, "God doesn't have grandchildren." And as my Studies in Mysticism professor one said, "Christianity is different in that Ultimate Reality came HERE to Earth, unlike every other religion that exists."
So the next time you ponder life after the grave, spiritual, god, angels, demons, and all the rest, please try to remember that the Christian faith is not something to just try on like a fad and be tossed aside when it suits your fancy. It's a relationship, it's a lifestyle change, and Jesus has the power to transform your life today.
As the songwriter said, "Nobody told me the road would be easy, but I don't believe He's brought me this far to leave me."
