The core of belief

The midweek email sent out by my pastor this week challenged readers to live--really and truly live--Christ's commandments of love put forth in the Gospels. To love God above all else and to love one's neighbors as one loves one's self. I have been trying the past day or so to really do this in every interaction I have with people in my life, whether that be the students I help, the bus driver of my morning commute, or the lady who was my cashier at Target last night.

To love God above all else and to love one's neighbor as one loves one's self. Can it really be so simple?

Yes.

For this is the core of Christian belief. It's simple for a reason--even a child can do this. And the second part (loving our neighbors) is a part of the first: when we love our neighbors, we show honor and love to God.

I have an awesome community of friends on tumblr.com. They are amazingly supportive, funny, intelligent, clever, creative, and just all-around wonderful people who live all over the planet. Many of them identify as atheist or agnostic, and once in a while post things on their blog about how if the Church would have not done X, people might still be a part of it.

As much as that can sting, I totally agree with it.

For millennia--since its inception--the Church has used the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament to condemn and exclude people and to justify practices which have been and continue to be abhorrent. That is not a Church to which I want to belong.

The Church to which I want to belong accepts persons of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ages, traditions, and personal histories, and embraces them for who they are. The Church to which I want to belong should be rooted in the commandment of Jesus to love God above all else and love one's neighbor as one's self. Our evangelism is the work of our hands in our community, showing that we honor God by loving our neighbors by caring for the children, elderly, marginalized, victims, and the environment.

That Church sees those of other faiths and those who profess no faith and extends a hand of friendship, asking to work together for a more peaceful world.

That Church believes that the core of our faith is love.