Two years ago I encountered a few individuals whom upon hearing that I was a Christian immediately shut down conversation and avoided me altogether. It struck me as a bit hypocritical because I had always been taught in school that judging people and labeling them was a bad thing. In fact, Christ taught me that we are all equal in His eyes and He loves us all the same. However, it hit me then in that moment that perhaps the reason these people were not even giving me a chance was because they did not really know what it meant to be a Christian.

As more and more people opened up about their opinions and thoughts on Christianity I could understand why. It was funny because for the same reasons why these people did not want to approach Christianity was the same reason I became one. In 2013 after living a life pretty unmarked by churches or religion, I encountered Christ. He showed me that, in Him, there was no judgment, shame, guilt, fear or sorrow. In Christ I found the sweetness of freedom for the first time. Yet, I do recall a sudden disgust at the idea of religion, ironically so. Weirdly enough, I found that Christ felt the same way on the subject, just check out Jefferson Bethke’s video “Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus” and you will know what I mean.

With that being said, I struggled with a restlessness to show people the truth about Jesus. Especially in light of recent events I felt that people needed to see the heart of Jesus rather than the lies that have been spread about Him. So this article is not about defending Christians or anything like that. The purpose of this article is to shed light on what it actually means to walk as a Christian. My next few articles, titled Diaries of the Redeemed, will hopefully shed light on the life of a believer. For the remainder of this article I would like to erase any misconceptions you have about Jesus or those who follow Him.

To start I want to apologize for anytime someone under the name of Jesus held up a picket sign, closed a door, shunned you from their company, pointed a finger at you and made you feel that God hated you. I can tell you first and foremost that those actions are not the heart of Christ. In fact, in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘let me take the speck out of your eye’ when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite first take the log out of your own eye” (Matthew 7:3-5); He also says that “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:1). When someone says they are a Christian, it means they are a follower of Christ. Therefore, there should be no judgment coming out of believers’ lips because they themselves should be walking in a state of humility. What is more, is Christians should know that the only thing that makes them "righteous" is what Christ has done in their place.

I mean seriously, Christians judging and separating themselves from non-Christians does not reflect Jesus at all. Jesus was a savior that got in the muck and the mire and loved people. He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, ate with the prostitutes and tax collectors, fed the hungry. Jesus was scorned by the religious people of His day and they called Him the friend of sinners because He was. He reminded the people that He didn’t come to save those who were perfect, but those who were imperfect. Which, newsflash, was everyone. I think it just really gets to me when I see Christianity becoming this exclusive social group for the White Upper-class citizen. If we spent one second looking at the scriptures we would see that it is the most inclusivetruth that Jesus came for all tribes, all tongue, all nations. He did not separate or segregate. He did not divide and discourage. Rather He encouraged and united people of every class, color, financial status, culture, education, and any of the other things this world tries to separate us by. "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1John 2:2) and by the whole world--he meant everyone.

So when you see the oppression and brokenness of this world, please don’t hate on Jesus. He came not to make the world more broken, but to fix the brokenness. When you see the darkness, know that in Him there is light. When you see the dry, forsaken land before you, know that He is a fountain of abundant life. I also encourage you, before you hate on Jesus open up the Word of God and see who He is. So I hope that when you do encounter a Christian you see someone who walks, “In Love as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). So yeah, I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus is God and that He died to free me. I believe that in Him is the greatest joy that I have ever known. But I still sin, I still mess up (big time) and I still need His grace.