A Faith Rooted in Love

Some people have a come to Jesus moment when it comes to their faith, but for me it was and still is a journey. It is always the love that God reflects through other people in my life that really draws me in. I have been blessed with a network of amazing people who have really helped me grow in love and in faith. They have invested time in me, they have challenged me to be a better person, and they have tried to work with me through various situations. I have learned through this group of people in my life that Christianity has the purest definition of love. My family, friends, mentors, and even my boss have passed this message of love along very well through their actions and through the way they treat me and others. Unfortunately, I am also aware that a number of Christians do not love like Jesus and I have seen first hand the damage that this can do. It simply drives people away.

Now that I'm a little older, I really want to pin down what the people I admire do to draw me to the faith. They have generally met me where I am and they have shown a lot of understanding. As a teacher and bible study leader, I can say that this can be a very challenging task. The kids that I work with often don't have concepts of respect and love because it is not modeled at home. In addition to broken homes, some of my students have a criminal record and all of them deal with different emotions and behaviors. As their teacher and mentor, I try to remember that God loves them unconditionally and so I need to love them like He does regardless of their actions.

It doesn't matter what you have done, where you have been, what your gender is, what your race is, what your sexual orientation is, or what you believe in, you are loved unconditionally by God. That is the basis of our faith. People need to be shown that they are loved and then they need to be challenged to become a better version of themselves through Christ. In order to show love, Christians need to invest time in people and practice what they preach. Our lives need to reflect what we hear and read at church every Sunday. The best way to evangelize is to live your life walking with God, to listen, to understand, and to be authentic with others even if it's just over a cup of tea.

Many media venues, Christians, and non-Christians have really skewed this basis of Christianity. People need to understand the beauty of our faith rooted in love. In order to draw others in, we need to represent our faith by loving and serving others and by meeting people where they are. If Christians represented the faith well, then all would feel welcomed and loved.