11/8/12

So…What’s Up With Your Faith Anyway?!?

Recently, I was asked why I shy away from sharing my faith on this site. I mean I mention it here and there, but not nearly as much as I could (or possibly even should).

My faith is everything. Without God, I would be hopeless, without purpose, and just lost. Each day that I spend getting to know Christ and learning more about the Bible, the more that my life and attitude about things change for the better.
Because of God, I have learned how to be confident in my own skin, to rejoice with others when they are rejoicing, to celebrate life, and to love people unconditionally. I am content in spite of my circumstances or surroundings, and I have peace that defies human comprehension.
God really is incredible and my absolute everything….I never want to be without Him, and so I’m so grateful that He has promised never to leave me or forsake me. (It really would be an EPIC FAIL of mass proportions for me to be without Him).
That said, the truth to this question is personal for me.
My reason is because I believe in meeting people where they are. There are some people in the world who just don’t get the whole Jesus thing. (And please hear me out completely before you label me and determine that I probably won’t make it behind the gates…aka Heaven).
There are so many people out there, who are hurting and looking for answers, who have tried the church and various other places, and some of those times you know what they were met with: Hypocrisy and Judgment.
I’m not saying that people shouldn’t face conviction if they are doing bad things, because otherwise they would continue on down the wrong path, but how would you feel if you went to the hospital and instead of the doctors and nurses being there for you and helping you to recover, they looked at you and deemed you a helpless situation or told you everything that you shouldn’t have done and then maybe you wouldn’t be in that predicament in the first place.
Presumably, you would feel hurt and ashamed…maybe even less than or dirty.
People go to the doctor’s office to be healed of their ailment, not to feel worse than when they entered.
Furthermore, there are plenty of people quoting Bible versus and talking about God on some days (when it fits the image or persona that they are trying to portray), but all of the other times they are spiritual wrecks themselves.
That’s not cool.
I have no problem talking with people about my faith or telling them about God, I actually LOVE doing so, but the main objective for this site is to just embrace women (and men) from all backgrounds, creeds, and upbringings. It’s to empower them and to remind them of how important that they are and of how much they are worth waiting for and receiving love.
If I am out on the street talking with people or mentoring someone, and just trying to encourage them, my faith is the answer to everything. But while I am here, trying to remind people regardless of what they believe in, how special they are and trying to inspire them, then that is my main focus and objective.
That said, my strength and foundation comes from my faith, so it would almost be impossible not to see the influences of God’s leading and guiding to not be present on this site.
Just as in Esther (my favorite book in the Bible by the way), God’s name was never mentioned in the Book, but He was still an ever present (and very significant) feature in her life and in the workings of her journey.
So, I will definitely talk about and share my faith from time to time, but my main focus is not to throw God’s word at people. It’s to tell them how important they are. If after their emotional scars and pains have started to be mended, and they want to know more about the God that I serve, I am here and available to talk as much as they want.
In the future this may change or alter, but for right now this is where I am and where God has me and I’m content with that. I just want to love people unconditionally….even if they don’t share in the same beliefs and values as I do.
Maybe one day in the future something that was said or done will prompt them to want to learn more, but until then I am here and I just want to inspire change and growth.
God is my everything and hopefully He will become yours as well, but even if He doesn’t lets still love and support each other through this journey called life.
While I can’t agree with or consent to something that goes against my faith and values, I can love you and be there for you just as Christ loved the church.
He met us right where we were….I guess I just want to do the same.

-Virgin Monologuez

3 comments:

  1. Awesome! I do understand where you are coming from. For a lot of people that we encounter in life the first and sometimes only experience of God they will EVER know is you. People will not always flock to a church service nor read the bible first as a way to know who God is. If people don’t see God in your character and in the way that you live your life then any declaration for God that you make will seem null and void in their eyes. God deals with each one of us differently in this thing we call life. I am in no way ashamed of declaring and sharing my faith with others but I know that I have to first learn how to walk in love DAILY with ANYONE (rude drivers, testy co-workers, family members, etc.) in this season. When God is in you (because you intentionally live for him) then people will see God’s light in you on the outside and will become influenced to follow Christ because they know that Christ must be in you. However, God can call each of us in different ways (depending upon the situation) and have us to be more bold about declaring our faith. Neither way is wrong. The most important thing of all is that regardless of how we share our faith is that we agree to first share love. Only by showing the same love to others as Christ shared with us can we make an effectual change.
    And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:3

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  2. Awesome! I agree 100%

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  3. @April, you stated it perfectly! To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about posting this because sometimes when you write things your words can get misconstrued or be misunderstood. I genuinely LOVE God and cherish my beliefs (and thus didn’t want to give people the wrong impression about what I was saying), but I also feel that my actions speak louder than my words. I know that I’m not perfect and that there are a bunch of times that I get things wrong, but I’m so grateful that God (and my friends and family), don’t throw in the towel on me but rather they help me to become a better person. I guess that’s the gist of what I am saying: love people where they are and they will be drawn by your kindness and generosity. Thanks for taking the time to comment :).

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I really appreciate ya'll for taking the time to comment. Tell me your thoughts, and I'll try to respond back as soon as possible. Have a good day :)