There are so many different belief systems in the world today. So many different religions and creeds. So many different races and cultures. And I respect that as human beings, we have the privilege of free will to decide what we will choose to believe. However, sometimes I feel like some people don't fully understand what it means to be a true Christian.

Some people believe being a true Christian is about following a list of "Do's and Don't's" or getting as close to the line of Christianity as you can just so you can make it into heaven.

Some people believe it is only about being a good person.

And, at the risk of offending some people, I would go as far to say that some people believe that being Christian is simply about accepting Jesus and going to church once a week.

And I respect the fact that people have the right to believe whatever they want. But I just wanted to share what I believe.

Matthew 22:36-40 says this:

"36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”"

So basically, Jesus said if you love God with everything you are and love people as much as you love yourself, everything else falls under that.

So when you love God with everything you are, you won't want to put anything before Him because nothing else could ever be as important. When you truly know what it is to love God, you will never love anyone or anything else as much as you could love Him. You find yourself doing everything that you can to please Him and everything you can to be where He is and where He wants you.

When you love people as much as you love yourself, you aren't going to do anything to hurt them. You wouldn't steal from or lie to yourself. You wouldn't start a horrible, life-ruining rumor about yourself (unless you're completely nuts). So when you start to respect people as human beings who are basically the exact same as you (only with different genes and brought up in different environments), you stop doing stupid and petty things to try to level the playing field.

I believe this is the foundation of being a Christian. Love God. Love Others. That's it.

Here's the catch: loving someone that you can't see is the most difficult task ever given to man. It's like trying to eat an invisible ice cream cone. You can feel it and taste it, but without the aesthetics, was it ever really there at all?

And loving every single person as much as you love yourself? Even the guy who purposely steals your sandwich from the fridge at work? Even the lady at the supermarket who pays all $500,000 in nickels and pennies? Even that kid in your english class that knows she isn't good at reading out loud and yet she still volunteers EVERY...SINGLE...TIME.... Yes. Which is why so many people (even those who claim to be Christians) have an issue with this.

Without following the first verse (Loving a God, you're not even 100% sure exists, more than you love anything else), you can never even hope to follow the second verse (love everyone, including those you annoy you most, more than you love yourself). See the dilemma?

I don't remember ever saying that Christianity is easy. And anyone who does say that either knows something that I don't or they're not doing it right.

But there is hope.

Psalms 34:8 says,

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

Once you DISCIPLINE yourself to read your Bible and pray everyday (yes, reading and prayer is a discipline), learning and tasting the character of God, you can't help but see Him and love Him with everything that you are.

If you are thinking about giving your life to Christ, don't get caught in emotion, because it cannot be an emotional decision. Of course emotion is going to be involved when you are falling in love with the God of the universe, but you have to make a decision to wake up everyday and intentionally follow Him and His teachings even when you're not sure that He is there. You have to learn to pray even when you feel like your are talking to a brick wall.

You have to learn about Him before you can love Him. But after you meet Him, you won't be able to help yourself... and that's when you'll understand true Christianity.