My Faith: The Truest Expression of Who I Am
My faith is grounded in grace, humbled by brokenness, bound in conscience, and justice seeking. Through the grace of Jesus Christ, I am free of guilt and shame, and unbounded by religious authority or institutional judgment. I strive toward actions that reflect my love for God and the neighbor.
My faith is humbled by brokenness because my spirit has been broken. In the past, I have felt lonely, depressed, and isolated from the Body, unable to reconcile external messages with internal feelings; actions with values. True reconciliation demands that confession accompany grace: both are necessary. When grace becomes tenuous, religion becomes binding, shameful, and oppressive. I have been there.
My faith is bound in conscience. I respect intellectual boundaries and the process by which people understand spirituality. Who am I to presume to have the only answer? I have found my answer. Others must find theirs. I cannot, in good conscience, impose my interpretation, understanding, or reasoning on them. Discussion of faith should be enriching and enlightening. By engaging in open and authentic conversation with others, by culturing friendships, I am able to reflect upon my own faith in bound conscience. I aspire to welcome everyone, to love all, because each individual, each conscience, is a unique patch on the quilt of humanity. I do not proselytize, because each person is already part of the quilt: I can help them realize its beauty by simply being.
My faith is justice seeking. As an extension of accepting grace, I am called to fight injustice and oppression. Just as Jesus stands with the poor, the hungry, the lonely, and the weary, so He is also most present in my life when I do the same.
I believe above all that God is grace, that Jesus was broken for all, and that He chose me in conscience despite all injustice. I live with hope because there is redemption. The human conscience is beautiful. Injustice wanes at the dawn. And by grace, what was broken is made whole.
Andrew