I had a talk with my son yesterday. It was one of those talks where we take off the labels of "dad" and "son" and just rapped like a couple of dudes. It was a nice time during the sit down. I didn't tell him where he messed up mowing the lawn, or taking out the trash or blowing his curfew. We just talked about girls, driving, jobs and life.
I call my son Bro. It is my nickname for him because his biological father has Son as his name for him. When he was little I did not want to make it awkward by calling him Son and adding to the icky awkward "STEP" thing. I also call him "Biggie" and he calls me "Smalls." That's fine by me because by physical measurement the monikers fit quite well. He fully knows when it comes to the law of the land I am Biggie and he is a resident of the land.
There are times when I have to talk to him like the Law and sometimes like Smalls. I can assure you both are inevitable but it is not always necessary for me to be the law. Sometimes talking to him as Smalls, usually in fact, we have much better conversations. He opens up more. He hears me. He shares his feelings. He is honest and we both walk away feeling good.
When it comes to being a Christian I certainly do not hide the fact that I am one. I would proudly state that to my death and life. That is what works for me. As soon as that statement was read a few of you probably rolled your eyes and thought "Oh man here we go..." I am sorry for that. Your ears probably began to close. Your mind drifted to preconceived notions of Christians gone by. The word hypocrisy rang in your head. I don't blame you. I feel the same way and I am one.
You see, where many of us go wrong as Christians is that we seem to exude an air of superiority to the non-believer, spiritualist and agnostic. That is truly sad. I am no better than you. I am no worse than you. We will all meet our maker. That is a fact. What that is is open to conjecture. How we choose to address that maker is optional and personal.
I talk to God all day. I do it on the toilet, on my knees and in my car a lot. I do it in short sentences and long diatribes. I also ask Him to talk to me through other people. He does. I know He speaks through me sometimes. I am grateful when He does. I am humbled when I am of use to Him and grateful when someone says I have inspired or given them hope. I kick the compliment upstairs. I am a messenger. That's it. We all are, wittingly or unwittingly.
To the reader: I ask that you not lump us all into one big pot. To the Christian on the mountain of righteousness, please look at the log in your eye before pointing out the splinters in the eyes of the masses. God is not a marketing tool, a campaign slogan or a political platform. To use Him as such is blasphemy at its greatest in my book.
I do ask the reader to say hello to the Creator, The Great Spirit, Father Earth, The Painter of the Cosmos. For years I had a hole that I couldn't understand inside me. Something was missing. I see now that it was a relationship with my FATHER. A connection to the universe. I have a "Bat line" to him that is always open. I don't know if it's red and under a glass cake cover like on the TV show. I do know he's always there when I call.
Jesus works for me. Church works for me. I did have to change the ones I grew up with and read the Bible to reeducate my mind. The church I go to now leaves me feeling love, not guilt. I feel I am headed towards a wonderful eternity, not a guaranteed guilt filled hell. However, this is not a requirement. Before Jesus left us he had 2 instructions for man. Not 374 rules and who to vote for. They were in paraphrasing, Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. The other was love your brothers like I have loved you.
There was no color, orientation, party affiliation, caveats, "buts" or "except those people" in his statement. That is where the trouble begins. When man twists God's plan of love for power, greed and power and greed. Shame, shame, shame! Those who do that will have to stand in front of the maker just like the hippies, artists, liberals and tree huggers.
God is love. Go out and lay some God on someone today, no and's, if's or but's about it. He loves you!
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