Detachment 2

Today I heard the results of a survey where the American people say that organized religion is loosing it's influence.  The person who conducted the survey saw now as an opportunity for religions to prove what they are and why they should have influence.

I think what he says is true.  At a time of "popularity" of religion we often took it for granted that those of us in a church had faith and it was being passed on to our children, but was it?  Or was it really just something people did because it was the norm?  I think that is the truth of it for most people.  They belonged to a faith but it had little to no influence on how they lived and now the new generation is saying to us that won't work.

How does that fit into detachment?  We have to detach ourselves from the idea of external trappings. The cross on my neck doesn't make me a Christian, what I believe isn't the whole story either, but how I act.  I can't say I believe in the sanctity of life and then not support life from conception to natural death in all I say and do, and not be a liar.  If I believe that you can't abort a child but I myself  never am open to life, or only open to life on my terms, I am a liar.  Do I dress like a Christian do I wear a cross and think that the trappings of faith is all I need, or do I have the heart of a Christian?  Sometimes we have to detach ourselves from our preconceived notions of what it means to follow God, to learn to hear His voice and follow Him.

I think I begin to understand how the faith can be dead without works but how works can not save us.  We get so caught up in the motions of faith.  We think that because we fast or pray or attend meetings that we more holy then those who don't do what we do, when it is our hearts we need to change.  If our actions don't flow from our hearts our actions will be hollow.  If they flow from our hearts we will do all those things and more.

I need to detach myself from my idea of myself and go with God, with no preconceived ideas only a wish do His will.  Pray for me.

The Love of God - Love is the thing

I was asked how can I judge what other Christians have done.  For the most part I can't.  I don't know what is in their hearts but at times it is evident.  Love is the thing, love for God and love for others is how you can judge your own actions.  When we act out of fear, jealousy, or hatred we are not acting in way God desires.  Our God is not simply a God of rules.  We don't love God by following His commandments but we love God so we follow His commandments.  Those do not know God and don't follow his commandments do not sin as much as those who know Him and love Him.  In little things our sins are greater than theirs in greater matters in part at least because when we don't act out of love we drive the non-believers farther from faith.  We might be tempted to blame the non-believers actions on the devil but I would say we do more good for hell when we call ourselves Christian but act out of hatered and fear.  Indeed tore,ember this when I amateur work and things don't go my way.   I wear a crucifix and if I act unjustly or rashly in the eyes of my co-workers I am acting like all Christians do.  We are not and never will be perfect.  We can repair much of the hurt we do by owning our faults, apologizing, and working to make reparations.  If you are wondering how you should respond to a situation remember this, Love is the thing.  Act out of love for the other and you can't go wrong.  But until you love yourself as God loves you, then you can't truly love others.

Keep in mind, love is not a soft thing.  It isn't cute and cuddly.  Love is hard and often painful.  It isn't easy to Love.  It means putting ourselves out there.  It means not doing the easy simple or even popular thing.  True love means telling the truth and can make others uncomfortable.  It means embracing the lepers of our world, praying for terrorists, caring for addicts, and doing good to those who hurt and hate you.  It takes bravery.  Don't forget our model is Christ who died for those cursed him, betrayed him, and abandoned him.

Being openly Christian

I am often amazed at how often someone who thinks themselves open minded calls me names because I am openly Christian.  It really makes me happy to be able to suffer in such a minor way for Christ.  Many people would at this point start to talk about how awful those people are but I won't.  They are a reminder to me that we should be better mirrors of the Love of God and how far I fall short.   I am so grateful to have someone else to pray for.  I truly wish them love and joy.  Those things come from God and we all need more love in our lives.  I thank them for reminding me that they are watching us and we need to be good examples of true Christian love.  I have to learn to love them better.  The better I can love, the better an example I can be to my fellow Christians too.  Unfortunately, as I am often reminded I fall short of truly loving all my fellow man.  I am a human being and i make mistakes, luckily God still loves me.  I wish God would give the gift of knowing what each one needs to be healed of whatever hurts them in their lives.  I would wish to someday know that love for us that drove Him to sacrifice Himself for us and to have that love for each person.  I wish I could give them the gift of seeing Gods love.  In the meantime I can still pray for them, for them to know infinite Love and Joy.