As I got ready for work this morning - I was listening to music on my much-loved iPod when a christian song came on. It was one I had not heard in a while. I think it was by DC Talk. The lyrics state "I know you need some Jesus in your life" and I got to thinking about what that meant.
On the drive in this morning - the questions were still buzzing around in my head and I reached the conclusion that what was missing from most christian churches, theologies and orthodox teachings was just that, Christ - or rather, Jesus.
I've always been a deeply spiritual person - even more so since belonging to my former church where Pastor John taught us about spirit, the "true voice" of Christ and the foundational nature of love and forgiveness. And since that is a part of my nature, I've been missing the sense of belonging to a spiritual community. I would love to say I miss my old church and my "friends" there - but in truth, I only miss what they once represented to me. Before I left the church, they were always so friendly and not one day would go by without me getting at least one email or phone call from someone at church. But after being somewhat "outed" to my pastor and his wife, apparently tongues got to wagging and these so-called friends and christians began talking about me rather than to me. So I can't say I miss them at all. But I do miss the idea of them as friends and as my spiritual "family".
So the lyrics of the song spoke to me this morning, and I started to think of them in a larger context - that the world needs some Jesus. What does this mean? Should we spread Christianity across the world? Should we spread Jesus across the world? No... I don't think that is what God wants nor do I think it is what Jesus called us to do. Instead, we are to take the model Jesus brought us; the model of love and forgiveness, of acceptance and tolerance, of patience and kindness, and remake ourselves in that image. If we were to do that - we wouldn't have to be caught up in teaching "about" Jesus - instead, we would be teaching those around us how to BE Jesus.
Yes, we need some Jesus in our lives. We need to be able to see him in our actions AND our words, not just one or the other. We need to be able to see him in our reflection when we gaze upon the mirror or a still pond. We need to be able to see him in our children who are the best reflections of ourselves that we shall ever encounter. We need to see him in the eyes of our friends when they look upon us with a pure love.
Today's religions are all working from the wrong spiritual foundation. One of the first things they do when a newcomer walks in the door is to explain why "they" are different from other religions - and then - why "they" are right while others are wrong. This in itself screams hypocrasy because Jesus would have started not by focusing on differences, but by focusing on things held in common. Jesus was all about inclusion - while most world religions today are about exclusion. How could they have missed the mark on such a basic concept?
I hope this doesn't come across as preachy, or as a rant of sorts - they are just my thoughts. My soul continues to grow and my spirituality continues to deepen with each day. I have some friends and family with whom I can share this - but I want to reach out into the world and encourage all of mankind, to love each other and to accept each other.
I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by people, friends and family that love and accept me in a way I've never experienced before in my life. I want that for you too!
WOOF ya later!
- bbw
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
adult phone sexA 29 year old American from Afton, Wyoming won adult phone sex Olympic Gold
ReplyDeletefor Greco-Roman Wrestling in Sydney by beating the Russian legend adult phone sex,
Alexsandr Karelin. Going into the gold medal match, Karelin, with
9 World Championships and three adult phone sex Olympic gold medals, had been unbeaten since 1987 adult phone sex