When I say I believe in someone it doesn’t mean that I validate their existence through speech, it means that I trust in them to do what they set out to do and to be who I know they can be. Regardless of whom it is that I believe in. Do you think that it is more important to believe and say that Jesus existed and died on the cross for our sins, than it is to love and forgive one another as Jesus did? I believe that Jesus experienced all of the great things that are bestowed upon us just for being born human, such as misunderstanding, being hated, being loved and being human, but he didn’t succumb to greed, jealousy, and control issues that we are plagued with to this day. The way he lived his life is not human, and thusly is how we should all strive to live. We should forgive our oppressors because we can never fully understand why they oppress, just like we can never fully understand any other person’s motivations for anything. Because life is so strictly individual there is no actual understanding of another’s burden and the challenge is to love them anyway. I grew up with a small placard that stated and illustrated the phrase “Don’t try to understand me, just love me”, and I have lived every day accordingly. I don’t fit in anywhere. I am too conservative for where I live and too progressive for where I grew up. I am too masculine for most women and too feminine for most men, but that just gives me a greater understanding of the variety God has created in people and also their motivations. I can see when love is not a motivation for progress rather than a tool for control. I don’t think Jesus would turn anyone away from his table, because love doesn’t do such a thing. I struggle with that idea because I don’t understand why Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays, I still get a little grossed out by homosexual relationships and I find it hard to forgive child molesters and killers. I am somewhat successful because I know we are brethren and try to love them anyway.
When I say I believe the Bible to be infallible, I mean that I think that anyone, regardless of race, sex or religion who reads it with an open heart and mind, will gain the knowledge that God intended, to treat people with love. I don’t believe a person has to know who begat who in order to fulfill God’s wishes, nor do I believe eating pork or shrimp violate my relationship with God. People have dissected the book and over analyzed each phrase and in doing so have destroyed the overall message. There is a simple metaphor to use in this case and it is that of the frog. In biology class I took a live frog and euthanized it so that I could dissect it and take the individual parts out to study them and understand the system of life, but after I put the cotton ball into the jar I extinguished the life and instead began to study death. I learned that I can easily destroy life, but as soon as I do so, I am no longer studying it. That is the same as taking the Bible one verse at a time, to back up the individual institution. This is how the Bible has been used to control the masses into thinking that what is good for the individual in control, must also be good for the population. I think God is greater than that. I am a teacher and the greatest thing I have come to understand through my few years of experience, is that every child is different, and a successful teacher can teach the same lesson to many different kids using many different methods. I live to serve and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so, but I am not so proud to think that I can, or should do it by myself. That is the power of God.
Man has an incredible ability to justify their actions through any means necessary; in order to serve themselves alone. Jesus never had a Bible to refer to, to show him how to love. I hope this doesn’t come off as me claiming to be the second coming, because I know I have too many faults for this to be even a glimmer of an idea, but I still claim that Love is more important than recognition, and always will. To suggest that God has “wants” is egotistical and lacking of faith. If he is in complete control, as most of our history and literature suggests, then he can command recognition if desired. Instead what I have come to believe is that he would rather us come to a lifestyle of love through learning and sacrifice and in doing so honor his wishes. The sacrifice he asks of us is not that great, it is just to trust in him and to love everyone, even those you hate. That is what creates a great faith, seeing how forgiveness works and utilizing that to create peace in your own life. Resent and unmet expectations fuel all hatred. So, if you can change your expectations and love and trust God enough to love the rain that falls in your life and see how it makes your crop grow, then an individual is honoring God, regardless of their language. This is where my argument comes to a head. I believe that we honor the same idea and strive to achieve it, but I still think that people rely too much on words in order to fool the spirit, usually their own. I also think that God has worked in you specifically to fulfill his needs and continues to do so in order for his message to be spread. In my specific case he has taught me differently. If I approached my friends and peers in the same vein that the Word has been given to me, I would lose them instantly. It means more work for the individual, but that is ok, we have all the time in the world.
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