He is the Creator of heaven and earth, He holds the universe in His hands, He is power and glory beyond imagination.. and yet.. amazingly..He is my best friend, He is my Daddy, who loves me, just as I am, and more than anyone else here on earth could. What a glorious, miraculous contradiction, a paradox, it is, eally.. that the God of all things, loves -me-, a flawed, imperfect girl like -me-, so much that He not only -wants- to have me in -His- life, but wanted a relationship with me so much that He would give his only son, a sacrifice on the Cross,to make that relationship possible.
Alone and on my own, I am nothing. It is His life, His love, His fire in me that makes me who I am.. the good parts of me, at least! He created me, He gave me life, He inspired and breathed these passions in my heart...and because of that, He is, and always will be, my First Passion.
My faith does not, however, make me a religious person. While some may believe that the words "faith" and "religion" may be easily and accurately interchangeable, I am not among that number. Religion is man-made, and based on the dogmas,the ideas of men, and their interpretations of God's word. Any man with a philosophy could easily start his own religion. A relationship with Christ, however, is God-made, and God-inspired, impossible to sinners, which we all are, without His gift to us..and is based upon a living, breathing -encounter-, and vibrant, growing walk with God's "word",in the form of Jesus Christ, His son.
Nor do I consider myself a "Christian" - that label has become far too identified with a political point of view, with a hypocrisy, lack of love, and intolerance that I do not think is pleasing to the God I love, nor can I, in good conscience and after prayerful consideration, agree with or choose to take upon myself.
I am simply a Christ-follower. An imperfect, fallible creation of my Heavenly Father, placed here on earth to seek His grace, and do His will, as best as I can. I am a work in progress, constantly evolving, and journeying more deeply into the mysteries of all that following Him bring. I want to be a reflection of His love, of His light, in a world that is left dark, and often without hope.
In my walk with Christ, there are some principles, and core beliefs that I have grown to accept as a part of His will for my life, passions in my soul that I believe come from the First passion I hold for Him. These passions and beliefs are merely what I believe God's calling is in my life, and my life alone, and may not be in perfect alignment with yours, my dear friends. Some of them may be somewhat controversial and even political in nature, but they are based upon what *I* see in the word of God, and the path that I feel I must follow. I do not ask for your agreement, or your approval, nor do I claim that my thoughts are the sole and only "right" in the world. I merely ask for your respect and understanding as you read. Please note that these thoughts and ideas are solely my own and do not reflect the thoughts or ideas of any individual, or organization with which I may be associated.
* I believe that I, as a Christ-follower, am called, first and foremost to fulfill His commandment that we are to love Him above all, and secondly, to love others in His name. I believe that loving others as He loves us requires service. Just as faith without works is dead, so is love without works merely the loud, clanging symbol as described in 1 Corinthians 13. Prayer, and platitudes aren't enough.. we are called upon to -care-, and to show that love and caring in tangible ways. I believe that sometimes the most effective witness or testimony that a Christ-follower can give isn't to be found in a sermon, a platitude, or even a bible verse..but in a simple "hug", and an "I love you", or a simple random act of kindness.
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, I am called to follow the principle of Micah 6:8.. To "Act Justly, Love Kindness, and Walk Humbly with the Lord, My God". I believe that I -am- my "brother's keeper", and that all men, as scripture states, -are- my brothers. We are charged with the duty of caring for the widowed, the orphans, the weak, the oppressed. It is my -responsibility- then, as a Christ-follower to work not only to do my part to see the needs of those hurting and less-fortunate met, but to act as an advocate for the provision of the needs of my "extended family of mankind" here at home, by supporting such government provisions as medical care for even the poorest in our land, and food for those who are hungry and in need. Since my responsibility doesn't end at our nation's borders, I am called to support organizations and missions that work to achieve these same goals throughout the world. I also feel strongly that as a Christ-follower, I am called to seek justice for those who are oppressed, to take an active stand against such injustices as human trafficking, and to seek substantial and comprehensive reforms in such areas of our government as immigration so that we, as a nation remain true to not only the Biblical standards of welcoming the poor and oppressed, but true to the sentiments of the inscription that is a part of one of our best-loved American icons, the Statue of Liberty.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
* I believe that as a Christ-follower I am called to love without boundaries. Just as God's love extends beyond the boundaries of race, religion, or sex, so should my love for others. Whether we share the same skin color, faith, or sexual preference, we are all God's children and we are all held in His heart... and to show hatred or intolerance to someone simply because they are different than we are is, I think, abhorrent in His eyes. I refuse to be bound in the chains of fear and hatred that plague so many. I will choose instead to love others as He did - Just -as- they are, -wherever- they are in their lives. Jesus, after all, died on the cross for the homosexual and the Muslim, just as he died for me.
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, I am called to celebrate and respect life. I am called to respect and honor those of greater years and wisdom than I, to see in their grey hair and their wrinkled hands, the beauty of a life long-lived, to listen, and hear in their stories, the legacies of their lives. I am called to respect and honor the unborn. Unlike many who espouse my faith,however, I do not believe that the answer to the issue of abortion in our society lies in government legislation or interventions. To coin a familiar analogy, such legislation and regulation would be somewhat effective in addressing the -symptom- of our social "illness", but little to cure the actual disease. I believe that as a Christ-follower, I am called to model my life and response to issues after nothing less than the life of Christ himself. Scripture gives no example, not a -single- example of Christ responding to the social ills of the day by seeking the involvement of the government, but instead, by showing love, kindness, generosity, and compassion to those involved. In accordance with that example, I believe that I am called to do the same, and use the resources at hand to do the same. It is far more beneficial to use my resources to aid those pregnant women in need, and help them to better their circumstances so that they can see their pregnancies to full term, or to act as an advocate for easier adoptions, than it is to waste my time and energy protesting or trying to fight in a courtroom or the congressional floor.
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, I have been called, and have been appointed the responsibility to care for his creation. It is my responsibility to do all that I can to be a good steward of the Earth. He has given us as our temporary home, and to the flora and fauna that share our home with us. I believe that in order to take care of our home as He has commanded us, I am charged with the duty to be an advocate for the development and use of cleaner, more "green" energy, and renewable resources. It doesn't really matter whether Global Warning is real or not, we should all still do our part to take care of that which we have been entrusted.
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, it is my responsibility to lead others to Him, not with a shout, but a whisper, and my actions. Some may be called to beat others soundly about the head and shoulders with a Bible to try to "evangelize" them, but as for me.. I'll stick with the loving path.
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, I am called to be "real". I see way too many "SuperChristians" that are only too eager to share Bible verses,platitudes and lots of "churchy talk" on their Facebook or other social networking sites - and do so almost exclusively. While there's nothing really wrong with that, I personally find it too heavy a burden to bear. If you follow me or befriend me here on this blog, or on any other social networking sites that I may be a part of, what you can expect to receive in return is a dose of the real Dee...the good, the bad, the ugly..and the beautiful disaster that is life. That doesn't mean that God isn't my priority or my first passion - it simply means that I feel that transparency, and "reality" are important as well.
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, I am called to worship and praise Him, and I believe that that worship and praise is a matter of heart, not necessarily of location. True worship doesn't have to only occur within the walls of a church..you can worship Him anywhere or anytime!
* I believe, as a Christ-follower, that church is intended to tend to the wounded soul, to help the sick of spirit, not as a haven for the holy.
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, the Founding Fathers' principle of the separation of church and state is essential, not simply as a way to insure that we, as a nation, are not subjugated to any sort of religious tyranny, but as a way to protect, and keep unity within the church, as well. How much division has been caused by the presence of well-meaning, if overzealous, political discussion or involvement in a church? "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's.. and to God what is God's".
* I believe that as a Christ-follower, I am called to love and support others who follow the same path as I, to help them along in the journey in any way that I may. I believe that it's also my responsibility to open myself up to others, and allow them to love me and support me. I'm still struggling with that on many levels. It isn't easy to open my heart, and make myself vulnerable to those. Like everyone else, I fight my own insecurity and fear of rejection on a daily basis. I do recognize that I am incredibly blessed to have had, and to continue to have some incredible partners who are walking with me in faith, many of you who may be reading this right now. To those incredibly brave, somewhat insane, and incredibly amazing, faithful souls, I offer my undying gratitude, and love without end. Thank you for being with me through the good and bad, and loving me as Our Father loves us - unconditionally.
There's still more that lies in my heart, deep rooted, deep seated faiths, and principles that work together to make me who I am... but perhaps, those are best left between my Father and I. I am a "Daddy's girl" after all. :)
Thank you for sharing this moment in time with me! If you've read this far, don't worry, the end is in sight.. there's just one more thing I'd like to share with you today. If you -don't- have a personal relationship with Christ, if He's not a passion in your life, if you've been spending all your time playing at being "religious", and you want -more- in your life - He's there, and He loves you. There's no time like the present! Just open your heart to Him right now!
And this made me cry... because you know we are of the same heart. I love you Dee!!!
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