Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Baha’i, Sikhism, Jainism, Atheism,Taoism, Shinto, Paganism…and the lists goes on. All of this for one God. I’d like to believe there’s many faiths because so many of us have a desire and longing to understand the purpose of our existence and who’s behind the creation of all things. Our faith (religion) is the answer to all our questions about life and though it may seem so outrageous to others or a reason for war, hatred and rejection. We all desire proof in the existence of God. We have places of worship like church, temple, mosque, synagogue… We can call it all kind of names, but it’s still the same things, for example what is considered the Sacred books such as for Christians the Bible, Judaism the Torah, Muslim the Qur’an and once again the list goes on. Just as there are differences in our ethnicity, so it is with our religion, but yet it doesn’t set us apart being human. We are all still human beings with one thing in common, we all die regardless, a fact that we can all agree on.
God is the creator of everything, and what if because he has given us the freedom to choose, we are the ones in our search to discover and know Him, created Him according to what each and everyone of us has experienced as an encounter, imagined or presume Him to be, due to our culture, traditions, and ancestry. We are created with different colour of our skin, speak different languages, looks different, eat and make different foods, dress in different clothing according to our culture and so on. There’s beautiful in the diversity. What if diversity is God intended plan.
When we judge and condemn one another religious beliefs, not one of us has the right or qualifications, but God. It’s Him alone who know the truth behind what we are all trying to do and be where He’s concerned. It is all about humility and respect for each others faith. We are all searching for truth and what if the truth is not in our separation of differences, but in the differences unified. And truly when thinking about it, all the diversity of faith just allows us to understand just how great and powerful God is, that He, Himself, who created all things is all things Himself, if that makes any sense? He’s creator and ruler of all.
I am writing this with the heaviness of heart. A good friend of mine I introduced to faith for the first time as a teenager instead of the normal things teenagers do. Yes, I have always put God first. Now after many years, found religion and decided to study, which made me so happy and excited for this friend. I am the kind of person which believe you can pray for someone and allow God to do His work in them. I never believe it necessary to use heaven or hell as a bargaining tool to draw people to God, “He is sufficient.” Like that of a life insurance sales person, “want to go to heaven when you die, then you better do what I believe to be the undeniable truth of God.” People have so much faith, but yet some how they believe God is incompetent without them. Oh how that is so offensive to me, because before you know it, unknown to their own self realization, they all of a sudden become God. Once working for the Boss, take over and becomes the Boss. This friend says to me if I don’t join their faith, I would be on one side as my friend would be on the right side and this person doesn’t like that idea, wants us to be together on the same side. The love is that we should be together, but look at the irony we’re both Christians. I could of understood my friend being worried about me if maybe I didn’t have faith. “What makes my friends faith more righteous if we’re both Christians.” I thought to myself. Even if I wasn’t a Christians it doesn’t make a difference to me. Whatever faith I choose has to be between me and God not man. “I have enough faith in God, that if I was to make a mistake, He’s merciful.
I am very apprehensive when it come to the faith that believe they are the righteousness and truth of God, join them and you’ll go to heaven, “please, they got to stop!” Truthfully then, I rather go to hell. Humility, love and respect for others, draws me to a faith.
In my journey in this life I have joined and followed many faiths, at a time in my life seek truth about God. This is what happens when you’re born of a Catholic father and a Protestant mother, freedom to choose. The one thing I’ve learned is that all these faiths are trying to attain the same goals and truth. Some truly believe they are the righteousness faith of God. The problem is I don’t know if to be angry or feel sorry. I didn’t even know how to respond to my friend. With anything concerning God, the flesh part of me wants to make its feelings known in the worst of ways especially knowing in this pandemic times emotions are so high like the enemy( devil, negative forces) is rampant seeking whom it may devour. I give thanks unto God that this was said to me while I was already fasting and praying about the times we’re living. And for this reason I wrote this Blog. The funny thing is, what my friend studied I had done it years ago and had decided it wasn’t for me, for the same reason she has now given me. Their ultimatum to be one of them was so against what I believe in and was searching for, “oh the arrogance!”
I believe that life is about levels, and as human beings where God is concern, spiritual levels of understanding we all must acquire to operate in faith. The higher we get is the more humble we become. And with humility, that’s when we truly possess the spirit of the Lord within us and that spirit works in love and respect to everyone, no matter what.
As I was praying, I felt the Holy Spirit revealed something in my broken heart about my friend and others like them. Saul who’s name was changed to Paul was also on the same side as Jesus disciples after his encounter with the Lord, but his past as a murderer of Christians kept him from relationships with some of the disciples. It didn’t matter he found out the truth about who Jesus truly is as he began to preach the gospel, he’d walked a lonely road without man, only Jesus who knew Paul was a changed man. Sometimes knowing the truth is only to be between you and God. Like Joseph and his family when he had the dream and David a young shepherd boy to be anointed king by Samuel and not his brother and he had faith to go up against Goliath, a giant, in the name of the Lord. But so much worst was Jesus who came to deliver man from sin was killed by the very ones he came to save. “So why am I hurt? Truth, it’s not about me!”