First

I had one of those light bulb moments. I was sitting at my desk scanning and the thought occurred to me that I've been saying how important it is that whoever I date put God first. I realized that it is just as important for me to be 100% sold out as well. If I'm not then that wouldn't be equal to the person I'm dating who is 100% sold out. My first desire is no longer what I want but what God wants.
Interestingly enough I grew up always hearing this. Apparently it's taken over 20 years for this to all finally click into place. Fortunately for me I have over 20 years of background in understanding why I believe what I believe. For many years I have been unwilling to enter into debate and sometimes even conversation regarding what I believe because I did not wish to risk stepping on toes or offending people. But now I understand that if you don't stand up for what you believe then you're not following the whole purpose of serving God. I say all this because last night at work I had a conversation with one of our servers. The conversation started due to the fact that the VP debate was on. This led into a conversation on pro-life vs choice. This led into a topic of organized religion. This particular individual grew up in the Roman Catholic Church. I believe that God created the world and Adam and Eve. I believe that Christ came to earth as a perfect human example and died for our sins so that we might have life eternal. I believe that the Bible has been translated down and is actually the infallible word of God. Are there parts of the Bible that have been misconstrued by religious fanatics over the years, yes. Christians have been marked as hypocrits, biggots, liars, fanatical, etc... My generation in particular seems to have a hard time accepting anything to do with Christianity or the church because they say that it is all a pack of lies and the statement I hear often is "I'm a good person I believe in God but I don't have to go to Church to believe that there is a God." We've gone so far to be politically correct that we no longer recognize black and white but seem to live in a grey area. God speaks so clearly about being luke warm, he will not tolerate it, at all. Revelation 3:15-16 "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." I know that Revelation is one of the most controversial books of the Bible. But I think it speaks very clearly to the way that we should be living our lives. Revelation 3:6; Revelation 3:13 and Revelation 3:22 all say "He who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches."
In the past when I would come across a conversation like the one I had last night I would have most likely been listening and saying very little. I know Christians walk a fine line because often times we are taken as being judgemental. Jesus spent the majority of His time not with people of the religious community but among the people. He showed such love for the people. I have not been called to judge but to love as Christ loved. This sounds a little obscure so I've got to expound a little more. In our conversation I listened. But I also maintained very clearly where I stood. Then I looked for openings. Example, I was told it was "amazing that a plane go go thru the air the way that it does and man created that and that is amazing". I said, "but it was God who gave the engineers the ability to be able to think and plan". To which I received a shrug and an "I don't believe that I believe that it was man". But I made the statement. I told the server that it is not my place to judge others. I think that when we come across as condemning, condescending and judgemental we turn people off to the message that we're supposed to be sharing. The most important message is that God loved the world (all of us) so much that he sent His only Son into the world to live as a perfect example and show how we can all have life abundant and then Jesus died the most horrific death imagineable and was separated from His Holy Heavenly Father so that we have the grace and forgiveness that comes not thru anything that we can actually do but thru the price that was paid for us. In this world where it's just not cool to be a part of organized religion and it's just not acceptable to make a stand and say that Jesus is the way the truth and the Life, I have decided to make that stand. When opportunities present themself like the one last night I want to be able to take the moment and be a reflection of the love of Christ. Not condemning, not turning someone off b/c I'm so judgmental that they can't even talk to me but letting the love of Christ shine thru me so that I might be a light. I want people to say, she's different, what makes her so different? For it's not just the words we use but the example that we set.