I get Pat Robertson and Robert Pattinson mixed up all the time, but generally they both annoy me. The "Christian" guy much more so than the tween love interest. Let me explain why...
The harshest words Jesus ever had for anyone were the people who were super religious. They were so concerned with following rules of their belief system that they became self-righteous, judgmental, and evil in their thoughts and actions toward others. You know most of the verses that those Pat/Robert followers use to beat other people over the head with? Those verses were generally aimed at religious people. Not at soldiers, homosexuals, prostitutes, or other "sinners." Based on what Jesus said, the guys you definitely didn't want to be were the people who said they followed God but didn't act anything like him.
Jesus said that you would know who really followed him because of the love they demonstrated.
Most of the "Bible verses" you hear on tv are completely made up. I aim to set the general record straight. Our parents' generation were required to go to Sunday School growing up, so they had at least the gist of what the Bible was all about. My generation does not know even the basics. So all the snide comments, the made up "Bible verses" in the media, the sensationalized misguided zealots, the scandals, the magic salvation prayer, the cults, the uneducated and immature, all of this adds up to make Jesus look really, really bad. Not to mention awkward to talk about in public. And I hate it.
Here's why I hate it so much: Society has turned Jesus' message upside-down and backwards. There is a lot of ground to cover to talk about what's really included in Christianity. And lots of debate even there. But a simple religion wouldn't cover life. A simple religion would be a mockery of the pain most everyone experiences. But we're going back to the basics, which means simplifying. Fortunately for you, the Bible starts with one theme and builds on it.
There is a central message that Jesus taught. And I love it. And I love him for sharing it. Ready?
Love.
Love God, love others. Tell everybody about this love.
Then Jesus talked a lot about what would happen if everybody lived this way. He called it the Kingdom of God. Jesus also talked a lot about what would happen if you didn't live that way. He talked about what love really looked like. How nothing, nothing could trump God's love. How nothing in human existence is more powerful than love.
We live in a society obsessed with love. We are really obsessed with is the idea that another person can complete us, consume us, meet our needs, give us passion and zest for life and living. And another person can do that... for a while. Then those chemicals in our brain adjust to euphoria and we realize that we are still stuck in this space called life and another person cannot possibly provide or protect us from everything. So where is the all-consuming love we see on TV and read about and all seem to be chasing?
I hope I do a good job at living out God's version of love. I hope I can correct some of the damage we've done to the name "Christ." Because really, I'm crazy in love with God.
