Second, I turned 22 since my last post so yayyy. I'm old.
Third..I would like to thank a dear friend of mine.. He knows who he is, for encouraging me to get back into the swing of things as far as my blog goes. Thank you !
Fourth.... the meat of what this post is actually about. So I googled the word Christian and this is what I got "a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his teachings"...
Now I agree with this definition I would also like to add that a Christian is one who is living according to this belief in Jesus and His teachings. Walk with me because I'm going somewhere right now... We as "Christians" say we believe but our lifestyles just aren't quite lining up with what we read and believe. So are we Christians or not so Christians?
In my ethics class on yesterday, my professor had every student in the class write on the board what their culture(s) were. I had done this in a different class already, so I had my list ready to go. I went up there and I wrote different things that, for the most part, make me who I am or is something I relate to. List: African-American, Christian, Female, Student... you get the idea. My other classmates went to the board and did the same thing. All of our lists were not the same, obviously but I was very surprised to see that maybe a little over half wrote that they were indeed "Christian". I was surprised because in observation of some of my classmates, I didn't automatically make the assumption that they were Christian.
Anyhow... later on in class discussion a case study was brought up and in this case study a therapist imposed her personal values and beliefs unto a client (which is seen as unethical in counseling) and told the client that her lifestyle (homosexual) needed to change and she could refer her to someone who does conversion therapy. This sparked an outrage over the class... like everyone starting shouting their opinions. The main thing that I got from everyone's opinions is that one who is homosexual can not (absolutely can not) "convert" to being heterosexual. I understand the doubt in the process of conversion therapy because there isn't much science and evidence of it but THENNNNNN someone brought religious beliefs into the mix and I was just like wait...wait..wait...hold on. About 13 of you JUST wrote on the board that you were Christian and excuse me for believing that YOU believe in Christ because clearly in that moment they did not. They didn't believe that through Christ and Christ alone, one could completely dismiss a homosexual lifestyle and be heterosexual. ALL things are possible for those who believes (but clearly some people have doubts in their faith).... that's what the bible you claim to read says... I just saw some in-congruency and this isn't about homosexuality... My point is that we as Christians can't pick and choose what to believe in IF we believe IN Jesus Christ Himself AND his teachings. We can't skip over the things we disagree upon... we just can't. Reading the bible is not like going to the grocery store and picking out only the fruit that looks good to you. Just because that banana has a spot or wrinkle doesn't mean it's not good or edible. You can still eat it with its spots ! In fact its ripe when it has SPOTS !! I'm not pointing a finger because I, myself, am guilty of this. I'm not spreading the gospel and evangelizing like I should. I'm not taking part in my daily bread, like I should. I am, however, addressing the fact that I may possibly be not so Christian because of these holes and gaps in my walk with Christ. I still and will forever believe in my Lord and savior Jesus Christ and I'm thankful for GRACE when it comes to these things. We are inherently SINFUL and God knows this but WE NEED TO KNOW THIS. This is something we need to recognize about our selves and do something about it. You can't almost go to heaven... it's either you do or you don't. I encourage you (and I encourage myself) to do better in walking with Christ... I...WE.. must do better. The gift of eternal life is THERE.. We just have to take it.