Relationship

Relationship.

            Faith is the key. Faith is ever abiding and shores up. Faith holds on in spite of an overwhelming lack of evidence. Faith has felt and heard the voice of the Father and will never walk away from Him. Faith isn’t fancy in a tidy suit and appropriate hair cuts. Faith can be messy. Relationship will have you mocked. Relationship is hard.

            I look out at the wonders of the universe and see an invisible hand and my heart swells. Others look out and see only numbers, equations, and cold emptiness. I marvel that in the face of all that vast BIGNESS OF IT, God sees me. It seems impossible that a being capable of sustaining all of that for BILLIONS of years cares for me and my heart condition. No wonder they call me crazy. No wonder it is so hard to see. It would be so much easier to see numbers, equations, and cold emptiness.

            Having felt the Presence of the Divine, I had no other recourse but to choose. I sat down with an encyclopedia; a spiral bound notebook, and a ball point pen. I was 15? 16? I do not remember. At age 10 I wondered, “If I were in India, wouldn’t I be a good, little Hindu girl in a Hindu school? What of Jesus then?” It was a valid question that nagged at my mind. I had to sort it out for myself. I made several headings at the top of the page, “Sin,” “Dealing with Sin,” “Paths to Redemption,” and “Eternal Life.” I then went down the side of the page with all the religions I could possibly think of.

            The outcome was shocking. At “Paths to Redemption” I saw that only Christianity said, “You do not have one. I came to you and found you.” Christianity is the only place where people in all conditions and make ups were completely accepted no matter what. All the other religions I could think of on my paper gave hard, grueling chores to be carried out. AND IF you managed to carry all of them out dutifully, the capricious god at the end of it could not allow you rest or eternal life because of your beard length. I had had enough of nonsense like that. I chose then and I choose now to stay with Christianity.

            The religion of my last blog had eliminated GRACE. Sure, Jesus loves you, but you can’t act this way anymore. You can’t have fun, listen to loud music, run indoors, dress fashionably, and enjoy ANYTHING of modern pop culture. To do so would somehow void your free redemption landing you in “backslidden.”

            When you live in Relationship holding the hand of the great God, it is really hard to stumble into that which He hates. And what is it that truly God hates?  Since I have chosen this path, I offer this, Proverbs 6:16-19:

¹⁶ There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
¹⁹ a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.

            When I look to the legalistic clap trap of those that adhere to their ridiculous paths to extra special holiness, I see the above things. All of them there on that list are present in a legalistic mind set. For, with legalism there must always be an accuser. Always police informers to tattle about Karen and how she posted horrendous things. Relentless eyes that see all and are eager to judge every single word I say here. Look to the words on the page. Be free of bondage and embrace true and living Grace from Jesus today.