Losing My Religion

Yesterday, something happened between myself and another that I think he would rather just pretend never happened, but it led us to joking about faith and religion.
Today he asked me about my faith. I wish I had the words at the moment to say what I seem to be able to say so freely at church, amongst christians and here on this blog. I imagine there is a misconception that as a christian, I might judge those whom do not think the same way I do. I really hope that's not the case. I think there is a difference between judging, and feeling sadness. And I think there is a difference between feeling sad for someone, and feeling sorry for them. I am sad for people that grow up relating the church to guilt, fear and only religion. Sometimes, they can't disassociate God and Christ from that, and even worse, can't even associate the idea that Christ came to free us from the guilt, fear and religion. I read the Bible, about how Jesus, time after time, made it clear that He is so much more important than the polity that we can't seem to move past. When I think of the lady that came and washed Jesus' feet with her best perfumes and her hair, children that Jesus invited to sit with him and the men that He lovingly rebuked for keeping them away, I have to wonder where we went wrong. Where did it turn into a hierarchy that made people feel so unworthy, so unloved that, for them, it just makes more sense to believe it's all a fraud anyway?

I am so blessed to know the love and mercy of Christ. Am I worthy of it? No. Can I earn it? No. Praise God! I would be DOOMED!

I pray that more people can know this. I pray that we can lose our religion. I pray we can die to ourselves, love one another, love Jesus and know the love of Christ is alive and life just sucks without Him.

I'm called to a standard, that is impossible for me to live up to outside of Christ. But I don't want to be that person that people feel they can't be themselves around. I don't want them to feel like they can't say things they would otherwise say. I don't want them to think I'm better than them and I don't want them to think I wouldn't love them where they're at. I pray that they can know Christ, whom already loves them right where they're at.