Like I said before, I grew up in the church. So, when God led me away from the church and down a completely different path, I had a whirlwind of emotions going all the time. But as I kept forging my path and finding new information my eyes and heart started to open more with each step. For a long while I was very angry with anything that had to do with the bible. If you were in the church, I didn’t want to hear you spit scripture at me. I knew how you understood God, and I couldn’t look at it from that small view anymore. At first, the confusion of not knowing how to view God anymore fueled the anger, but eventually the pieces came together dowsing the flames. And now, when I am reminded of a scripture, I do not get angry. I am able to wait (most of the time) for the different perspective and understanding that always follows. My perspective Now seems to be more like that of Gandhi’s, “ I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.” It is with this understanding that I ask you to look at the words of Jesus again. In Matthew 7:13-14, he says “Enter in at the strait gate: for it is the wide gate, and broad way that leadeth to destruction: and many there be which go in there at. Because the gate is strait, and the way narrow that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (GEN) The old teaching and understanding of these verses coincided with the church’s teaching that salvation is only attained by believing and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. My new understanding is still not completely understood, but it raised the following questions.
What if what Jesus meant by “narrow is the gate” is for us to find the way that works for us, because we are all unique and have our own gifts and talents. And then to stay on that path no matter what because the world will tell us a million different ways to do the same thing? What if, even though, the answer will always be love, our goal, our purpose in life is to figure out how we, on an individual basis, best show and give love to the world? And to do that thing no matter how hard others try to persuade us we need to “get a ‘real’ job”, “that won’t support you”, “that won’t make a difference”, etc.? What if Jesus wasn’t saying there is only ONE path, but that EACH of us has a unique path and the “gate” to finding it is narrow?
Everyone is fighting to be right. Everyone is fighting to be accepted. Why? Does the fight even exist?
How would things in your life change if you quit fighting to be accepted and started learning how to be your authentic self?
Hero
All alone in the middle
Of nowhere floating on a
Life raft.
Waiting for a hero
I fear
Will never come.
Tired of saving myself.
Tired of saving everyone else.
I am ready to
Let the world
Drown in its own misery.
Yet I am still here.
I must let go of the fear.
Quit waiting on others
And once again
Be my own hero.