Grace

There are so many people I know who have walked away from their faith. Often churches leave scars so deep that it is hard to look at God in any other way than what we’ve seen in others. Church can be a place of healing but it can also be a place of hurt.

I get it, I understand.

I know what it feels like to be hurt by the church. I’ve experienced it and I’ve seen many others who have been hurt as well. On top of the rejection I felt, I started to feel discouraged about all of the different religious rules and regulations I was supposed to follow. I was getting confused in my walk with the Lord.

As a result, for two years, I really studied the bible, what it meant. I questioned my preconceived notions of who God was and who I was supposed to be as a christian. I challenged all of the religious ideologies, everything I could think of. I needed to find out for myself what I truly believed.

Not what I was told to believe, but what I truly believed.

During this time, something unbelievable happened in my walk with the Lord. Where religion had instilled in me a great sense of right and wrong, I realized that my perception of God didn’t leave a lot of room for making mistakes. I realized that I was too focused on making sure I did the right things more out of fear than out of a love for who God was.

I found that God was much more loving than I thought, much more merciful than religion had portrayed Him to be. Where I often felt condemnation, I now felt patience, unconditional love, and acceptance. I discovered His GRACE.

GRACE: The FREE and UNMERITED favor of God.

If you have struggled with going to church or you have even given up on your relationship with the Lord because of what you experienced in the church, then I would encourage you to not allow these experiences to interfere with your perspective of God. Religion does not always portray God’s grace, His mercy, and His love.

Let 2018 be the year that you discover who He really is.