I am not some Bible thumping Christian that’s going to judge you for every thought you have that’s different than mine, or dislike you because you don’t believe what I believe, or judge you because in my opinion your sin is worse than mine, or preach verses at you to try and force you into believing something. Those qualities are not reflective of true Christianity and, unfortunately, many have acted exactly those ways while calling it Christian faith. Side note: I don’t think Bible thumping is necessarily a negative thing, but many people use the term to mean something negative, which is why I used it up there.
I am a Christian that did not grow up believing the things I know to be true now. I am now a person who believes in the Gospel because the message is that love is the road to walk down and the best thing we can do in this life is love one another as God loves us. I am not perfect in this, it’s hard to love everyone unconditionally. I will always be a work in progress.
I am a person who came to this conclusion as an adult, and who is afraid that the relationships I had before might not last because some of those people think Christian automatically means you adopt the characteristics mentioned in my first paragraph, or whatever other characteristics match up with the idea you might have about what Jesus followers are like based on your life experience.
I am a person who is nervous that the people of those relationships I am worried about will become uncomfortable, judgemental, assumptive, and distant toward me if I become more comfortable sharing my faith – even though the changes that are happening in me are GOOD for me and for others. This has been a roadblock for me personally. For that reason, I’m sharing these thoughts so I can leave them behind and move forward with what has been on my heart – sharing my faith, sharing my challenges, and hopefully creating a platform where people can feel encouraged by one another.
This is the belly I am currently stuck in, the challenge I feel like I’m facing, the band-aid I am ripping off, and my first step toward getting my Love the Belly of the Whale concept afloat (ha!).
If you read this whole thing…hey thanks, that’s pretty cool. Maybe you’ll keep checking out my stuff! I’ll be making blog-like things, making art (possibly videos), maybe selling some of my art, and sharing inspiring stuff I find along the way.
Love the Belly of the Whale 