A Raw Christian...

Christianity is a hard pill to swallow sometimes. Why is it so difficult to believe in a good God who loves mankind? I suppose it's hard because if God is good and the world is rotten, then mankind must have the ones who messed it up. On top of that, Christian faith demands that I accept the fact that there is nothing I can do to make myself better. Oh, I suppose that I can do good deeds and help others, but none of them ever do any good toward making me a less angry person or more understanding of people and cultures who are different than me. How am I supposed to love my enemies when I have trouble enough showing genuine love to my girlfriend? Jesus claims to be the ONLY way to God -- at times this seems so narrow-minded. Everyone knows people who act like they have a corner on truth, and we christen them with labels like "arrogant" and "bigot." The only thing that separates Jesus from them is that He is God; if that's true, then I suppose He is justified in claiming anything.

I'm an unabashed follower of Jesus. His teachings are true ... they must be. But it's hard to believe them sometimes, and it's hard to live them all the time.