NP: "Blessings (feat. Ty Dolla Sign)" - Chance the Rapper
How many times have we told people, “I forgive you but I won't forget?" What does that even mean? Is it even possible to forgive someone and still hold on to whatever crime they’ve committed in your life? I often asked myself this same question. Harboring these brash feelings towards someone, even if you've convinced yourself you’ve forgiven them, is realistically only detrimental to you. Recently I have become stronger in my Christian faith. People may have their misconceptions of the faith as it filled with many hypocrites, but I know there is so much more to it than what most people see from the outside. In general, within a large group, there are bound to be bad apples and that factor shouldn’t be determinant to how credible the faith is. It hurts me to know that many young people, including close friends, bash the faith because of worldly factors we cannot control. I’ve had friends tell me they don’t believe in God because He never came through when they prayed for something or bad things happened in their lives. They wonder how could he do that to them. For some, their parents forced them to go to church and it just turned them off as a whole. People feel that God could never love them because they don’t live as saints. These feelings are understandable and with this, I will try my best to bring light to some of these doubts.
I hadn’t always been a spiritual person, but there were many times in my life where I hit rock bottom and felt empty and alone. I used to pray but I had stopped because I never received what I asked for. Then one day my mom challenged me to pray for real things, not materialistic things and immortality, but to pray for things that better me as a person, and to pray for a relationship with God. When I started to do that, whole-heartedly, weird things started to happen. Almost everything I prayed for came to light. I was honestly freaked out by it and even uncomfortable at times. I started to become very curious and I honestly couldn’t grasp the fact that I hadn’t lived a 100 percent sanctified lifestyle, yet all these blessings came my way. I felt that I would be condemned for all the lies I told, or for talking back to my parents (LOL). But I soon found out that God doesn’t work like that. He forgives and he forgets, no matter how low you’ve gone in life, he forgives you. One thing I can say for sure is that you even feel a physical lightness to your being after repenting and asking for forgiveness.
The Christian faith, in my opinion, is based on three major factors: love, faith, and forgiveness. The Bible is more of a guideline for a stress-free life; just because you don’t follow everything in it doesn’t mean God won't love you. He prefers that you have a conscious in everything you do. We are expected to mess up, but the Bible is to ensure that we remain with good intentions. When we pray for materialistic things, they may not come to fruition because maybe it’s not necessary for our situation. Materials are security blankets for people and he wants to be your security. He wants to be the person you go to in times of need, instead of thinking that money or things can change everything for you. When it comes to bad things in your life, and you ask him 'why'? Take a moment and look back at that situation with a positive mindset. Did you receive nothing for that experience? Setbacks lead to life lessons, and lessons lead to wisdom. I am working on myself. I am trying to be grateful for all my insecurities and impurities; I always come out a stronger person. The Christian faith doesn't revolve around criticizing others for the way they live, it's about loving others because one sin is no different than the others. It's about forgiving and forgetting as you would want him to do for you. So my challenge to you is: if you’re ever feeling empty, angry, depressed, or in constant search for something, but you don’t know what, try praying and asking god to help you understand. It doesn’t cost a dime, and you never know, it could change your life forever.
