Bridging the Gap

Okay, this may be a controversial post, and if you know me, you know I usually don't do controversial, but here goes.

Why does "closed minded" only work one way? If you are religious, have morals that you try to stick to, and believe that accountability is key, you are thought to be one of "those people" who are shoving your "religion" down the throats of everybody around you. If you talk about your faith to someone who doesn't understand it, you are a "bible thumper", and you should never, ever, under any circumstances disagree with someone's lifestyle, (even if you never say anything , a simple disagreement with lifestyle choices is enough to label you a bigot or closed-minded). I'm tired of being lumped in with the extreme cases of misguided faith, and being waved off because I believe in a different point of view.

Here's my statement to those that think that religion, or belief in Christ is hypocritical. Yes, I am a hypocrite. I'm more than a hypocrite, I'm a liar, a gossip, a defamer of character, a narcissist, a glutton, and so much more. I can never, ever, nor will I ever be good enough for the God that loves me just the way I am. I can never EVER repay what God has done in my life through my relationship with His Son. Thank heaven for that, can you imagine trying? phew, it makes me tired just thinking about it. If you've never lived this life, how can you automatically shut it down as fake, or wrong? I once heard someone say "It's not that seeing is believing, it's that once you begin to believe you will see" How will you ever know until you try it? Am I getting preachy? Let me back it up here for a minute. Just as we are called to love our fellow man, as God loved us, we are also called to be different from the world who does not know Him. Is that why we are called hypocrites and fakes, and frauds? Well, please, call me that. Because I relish it. I'm thankful for the opportunity for God to heal me.

Now, how do we translate this to the people who don't know that we do love them? How do we bridge the gap and let them know that we are not so different from them?