My favorite thing is when people offer their opinions of me when they don't know me. (Insert sarcasm)
And my most favorite thing above that is when they judge my parenting.
It has taken me a long time to understand that the way that I think is very different from the majority. I am not a rule follower. I am curious about all kinds of people. My boys have developed relationships with many different types of people. They have been in many different types of atmospheres. I don't shield them from much unless I feel it will hurt them physically. We have explored our little corner of this amazing world. Their little eyes have seen a lot of it with all its complex, confusing beauty. I am teaching them to love without judgement or expectation.
I don't believe that there is a set criteria to loving Jesus. I believe we will all be shocked as hell when we get to heaven and see who's there.
What if a drug dealer/pimp/Buddhist is just as "godly" as my Southern Baptist preacher father? What if me and my non-church-going, wine drinking, non-monogamous, universalist self is just as "godly" as a Children's minister?
I have dear friends who are polyamorous and love to kid me about a line in my profile that I put once in a dating app. "I love Jesus, but I drink a little." That pretty much sums me up.
I believe God is bigger than our feeble attempt at morality. I believe that He is so big, we will never be able to come close to understanding His holiness. And it certainly isn't contained in a church building...or book...or our limited human knowledge. I believe that He is more concerned with the state of our hearts than the "sins" we commit.
What is sin? Google's definition....
sin: noun.an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.
"a sin in the eyes of God"
synonyms: immoral act, wrong, wrongdoing, act of evil/wickedness, transgression, crime, offense, misdeed, misdemeanor;
Verses about sin in the Bible:
Galatians 5:19-21 The Message (MSG)
19-21 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.
James 4:17 The Message (MSG) 16-17 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.
All of this is about the state of your heart.
It doesn't say: sin is taking your kids around people who are not in the same socio-economic level, who curse, who smoke, who drink, who live with their partner, who are not as educated, who eat only like you do.
It doesn't say: You are sinning if you watch rated R movies or smoke pot or are homosexual.
I believe that all mention of sin in the Bible is because the state of the HEART was off...not their actions.
God knows when we are acting in a way that is unbecoming to who we are. He knows when we are behaving in a way that is selfish, loveless, greedy, jealous, prideful. It's not about the ACT ... it's about the MOTIVE behind the act.
Hi, I'm Rebekah. Mother to two beautiful, cool, amazing boys. We have homosexual friends. We have drug addict friends. We have non-monogamous friends. We have super liberal friends. We have homeless friends. I have tattoos. I watch rated R movies. I don't go to church regularly.
My heart is full of Jesus.
I love Jesus, but I drink a little.
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