It is a truth I claim for myself...

After yesterday’s post, I had an awakening. Having to add “God” to my category list to index my post exposed how far I had drifted. For nearly three-months I’ve posted about everything pertinent to my life: randomness, friends, family, mom, sex, The Wife… but not God. And though I’ve been asked many times about my faith, the result of my posting, I’ve avoided the subject.

I regret not allowing others to be involved in my Christian faith. I want you to know that I am a Christian. I strive to remain close to God in all my days and to keep Him at the center of my life. As of late, that strive has been unfortunately weak. As a result, I have been weak. I have been lost.

True. I am a Christian that struggles. Yet I know that all Christians remain in struggle and bounded in guilt that follows. Created by perfection, Christians are not. Like a wrongful children, we turn away, ashamed to face our Father. Some pretend to be otherwise—superiority— a front for mortification.

The Lord is my Savior. In my relationship with Him, I will
allow Him to manifest Himself in me, as He defines me. I
will ask the Lord to guide me. I am a follower of Jesus
Christ. I will share with others the glory He brings.

I search for what it means to be a Christian. For me, the definition is expansive: Anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, has asks Him for forgiveness, and seeks to follow Him. Arguing over a theological shopping list, I feel, leaves every bough of our faith drawn asunder. God is Love. Jesus saves. He is the way.

Simple enough, I feel.

As a Christian I remember that Jesus was the son of God and that I am a child of God. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the story of Jesus, asking who He was and what He did, to help guide my life. And though my academic pursuits have precipitated variance, I find guidance from The Bible.

What Jesus has taught me:

I see Jesus as being a man who was totally at one with God.
I should strive to be at one with God.

Christ was Divine.
I should recognize that Jesus connects me and makes me at one with God, the Divine, the
Christ. Living out of balance with God enslaves me. Living in union with Divinity frees me.

He lived what He spoke.
I should not be a hypocritical Christian. I should walk the walk and talk the talk

Jesus’ entirety was an embodiment of unconditional love and forgiveness.
I should love unconditionally and forgive with the same heart.

I must be reminded that it is not what I do that makes me a Christian, it is about all He has done for me. He has forgiven my unspeakable sins. He has saved my sullied soul. He has always loved me despite my inability. He has guided me through the depths of blindness. He has remained truthful despite my lies. All He asks that accept Him and reflect onto others all that He has showered upon me. He is my Lord. I am His servant.

This is not a truth I can claim for others. It is the truth I claim for myself.

My God loves. My God is the advocate of justice, fairness, decency, goodness, integrity, and uprightness. The simple act of proclaiming my Christian beliefs is a useful exercise in spiritual boldness, and like many of my previous posts, therapeutic. Doing so, I hope, will assist me in living a more spiritually honest life; I hope it will hold me accountable, so as not to mar my testimony.

More I hope that you see that God and faith in Him is about more than doctrine. It is about the unconditional love, understanding forgiveness, and surmounting happiness He provides to those who are obedient to Him.

Doesn’t he rock?