Jesus

Throughout the history of man, I’m not sure anything has separated or caused more pain and bloodshed than religion. I am not here to discuss religion. Religion, the man-made rules and guidelines, formed the basis of how people express their faith. People have fought wars, committed atrocities, and basically given Christianity a very bad name. And, in fairness, much of the bad reputation has been earned through the greed and power hungry leaders of religion throughout history. I do not blame people for skepticism and criticism. Ordinary everyday people also give Christianity a bad name. Preaching one thing and then living another. Judging others in the midst of their own hypocrisy. None of us are blameless.

Today there are currently Christians who don’t won’t even use that word to describe their faith. How that must break the heart of the one who died and rose from the dead so that humanity could be reconnected to their creator.

Being a Christian has nothing to do with what church you belong to, if any; it isn’t about showing up every Sunday, how much you give, or even if you have been baptized. Those things are the possible outcomes of what you believe and how you live all seven days a week.

Jesus came to earth in the form of a helpless baby. Religious leaders were expecting a king in the traditional human form; what they got was a baby. It is so like God to do this to us; we are arrogant humans. During his time on earth, Jesus demonstrated the perfect love of God in the form of a man. He came to show love, mercy and kindness. He hung out with outcasts, performed miracles, and took the religious leaders to task for their rules, regulations and power hungry behavior. Jesus suffered every emotion we could ever feel. He was rejected, ridiculed, tested, and tortured before ultimately being executed. The final victory, however, was his when he bodily rose from the dead so that we, who accept his sacrificial death on our behalf, would have access to God. No longer did humanity have to have an intermediary. Our intermediary had just defied physical death.

It is my prayer that this little seed has been planted in your soul. You are loved, worthy, and the God of the universe longs to have a personal relationship with you. That is why Jesus came to earth and fulfilled the law and prophecy of the Old Testament. Believing Jesus is who he says he is and accepting him as the one who stood in your place to pay the price for sin is where being a Christian begins. From there it is a life long process of becoming more like him.

Until tomorrow, sow seeds of love, forgiveness and kindness,

Sheryl