“I’m a Christian.” This is a phrase that I have become embarrassed to say over the past few years. Not because it’s not true, but because of the negative connotations that are connected with it. I might say “I’m a Christian,” but people hear “I’m homophobic,” “I’m a racist,” “I hate Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists,” “I’m a judger,” “I’m a condemner.” People do not hear me say “I’m a Christian” and feel peace. They feel uncomfortable, fearful, and angry.

And can I really blame people for feeling this way? Can I blame non-believers for hearing me say “Christian” and immediately passing judgement on me? Who am I to feel offended when I belong to a culture of “Christians” who do nothing but spread hate? Who am I to feel offended when some of my fellow Christians are one of the main reasons that this “one nation under God” has turned into “one nation under law/ hate/ judgement?”

But to clarify, I am a Jesus lover. I believe that I have been called by Jesus to love Him and to love others. I was not called into a relationship with Christ so that I can change others, point out their sins, and condemn them. Jesus never did this, so who am I to believe that I should?

The Christianity that is displayed in the media is NOT Christianity. The protesters, the angry people screaming at women getting abortions or condemning homosexuals or scrutinizing Muslims, Jews, and Atheists have lost sight of the Christian message. If they claim that their actions are “Christian,” then I refuse to be just another judgmental person interfering with God’s intentions for this world.

Jesus called us to love. He brought us into this world through love. He drew us into a relationship with him through love. He saved us through love. And he asks us to share his love with others. The true Christian message is simple: Love God and Love People.

I feel surrounded by a nation full of people who claim to love Jesus, but who show their love by trying to change others. Christians in the media have taken it upon themselves to bring others into the “right” lifestyle and attempt to do this by damning people to hell if they refuse to change. But God never placed this responsibility on our shoulders. He never commanded us to spread his message by condemning our neighbors.

Mathew 7:3-5 says “why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Who am I, as a Christian, to think it is my job to fix others when I am as equally broken and sinful?

The whole point of knowing Jesus is accepting his love and sharing it with others. How can protesting and screaming at someone call them into God’s love? In what way is God’s love being shown by doing this? If condemnation is all people see from us Christians, then who are we to judge them for hating us?

I refuse to be the reason that someone might not come to Christ. I encourage my fellow Christian community to see the love in Christ’s message. Jesus does not command us to fix, to heal, or to change others. He tells us to love them. Plain and simple. No one’s salvation is in our hands, but we are called to be the servants whom God will work through.

Christians’ negative reputation today can be justified by what has been seen in the media. We are no longer a community of fanatic Christ lovers. We have become persecutors. We are consumed by earning our salvation and demanding others do the same. We expect to earn our way to heaven by following a list of rules and damn those who do not act in the same way.

My message to those of you who have encountered these Christians: you have not encountered someone who truly knows Jesus. These are not his disciples; these are condemners who do not know his love. If you feel anything toward them at all, let it be pity. They are caught up in a never-ending cycle of self-destruction. There is not a single thing we can do to ever deserve God’s gift. We are flawed, we are broken, and there is nothing we can do to fix ourselves. You have heard nothing but condemnation from them. But they have lost sight of Jesus and do not reflect how he feels toward you, his precious sons and daughters.

I assure you, someone who truly knows the Lord and is doing his work will invite you in with love and acceptance. Christians are not perfect and I will never say they are. But true Christ followers accept their brokenness and the brokenness of this world and pursue Jesus and his love through it all. They accept his gift of grace and the message you hear from them will be a similar one of grace, compassion, and love.

Today’s Christians condemn, but Jesus followers love. And that is why I am embarrassed to call myself a Christian, but proud to say that I love Jesus.