The Great Commission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Matthew 28: 16-20

Since I have been writing about my religion, beliefs, and faith on this blog, I have often encountered those who either do not understand how a relatively intelligent person could still have faith or how I could remain faithful when so many "so-called"  Christians spew hateful messages against the LGBT community.  The evil spewed by people who call themselves Christians, yet do not follow the teachings of Christ, leaves a bad taste int he mouth of many in the LGBT community.  Bad experiences can turn people from their faith, but I have kept mine and encourage my readers to keep theirs. For me, any person who calls themselves a Christian, yet spews hate and judgment, are not true Christians and their behavior is unforgivable. Instead of following the "Great Commission" to bring others to Christ, they are driving people away.  Therefore, in my humble opinion, they are doing Satan's work, not the work of God.

I am not a Christian because I believe that Christians have a monopoly on moral values and righteous living.  I believe that all religions have their place, and all religions and ethical philosophies that I have studied have at their heart the ethics of reciprocity, more commonly known as the golden rule (One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself).  I am a Christian because I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.  He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  My faith has been made even stronger by the wonderful church community in which I was raised.

It is not up to us to prove that Christians have the exclusive rights moral behavior. However, what we should do is to encourage those around us to keep the faith and allow Jesus into our lives. W e need him and he can bring us great comfort.  Just because someone claims to be a Christian, does not mean that they follow the teachings of Christ.  Christianity is not about "being holier than thou," but instead, it's about Christ.  It is about God's infinite love.

By not focusing on the behavior of other Christians, we can focus on the most important thing: Jesus Christ.  When we talk to others about our faith, we should have to defend Christianity, we should talk about our personal faith, because we are the Christian we know best.

Sent from my iPad