I was saved about six years ago. Since then I've encountered so many remarks about my faith. I've had people tell me I'm wrong, people tell me "that makes sense" and friends keeping things from me. People didn't tell me things because they thought I'd be offended or judge them. they were surprised when I told them my Spotify playlist is mostly Foo Fighters and indie music. Most people think I'm lame and a lot of individuals have a skewed image of Christianity in their minds because of a select few, just like many individuals think Muslims are all terrorists. If we can recognize that the latter is so absurd, let's also recognize the former as untrue. I'm not a dork because I love Jesus, I'm a dork because I love cartoons and video games.
In popular culture, Christians are portrayed one of a few ways: complete losers, holier-than-though jerks, or total hypocrites. I don't fit into any of those generalizations. I'm always told what I believe by other people, and I'm always told what I stand for and against. I'm a Christian so I must hate the LGBTQ+ community, I must be against abortion, and I hate people who don't share my faith.
Just so we're clear, none of those statements is true and none of my religious doctrine condones those behaviors. Instead of looking deeper and trying to understand what Christianity is about, these harsh assumptions are made. Jesus didn't go up to prostitutes and murderers and tell them they were going to Hell and that God hated them, instead he loved them and became their friends.
If Jesus can do it. I'm pretty sure followers of the Christian faith can do it too. In all my years as a Christian, I have never encountered any written commands to hate people who don't believe what I do or to shut out everyone because I'm obviously better than them. My faith is about loving the unloved, helping those who need help, and being the best person I can be. Maybe I've taken the teachings wrong, but God encourages a life that glorifies him, and that isn't one that requires any amount of hatred towards anyone who isn't God.
My faith calls me to love everyone, to be forgiving, and to be gracious. If that makes me a loser, then yes I am a loser. It's not my job to make decisions for everyone else or to tell them that if they don't change god won't love them. It's my job to love everybody and to show Christ's love through my actions. Love isn't mean or cruel, love is forgiving and accepting.
