To Be Like Jesus

I received a lot of feedback on my last post when I put it on my facebook. Almost 60 comments! Some were mortified by the title and saw it as blasphemous. Some were encouraged by the message of Jesus liberating the captive and freeing us to sin no more.
It was not my intent to offend anyone or to insult the name of Christ. My intention was to get back to the actual, true definition of a word...a beautiful word...that many have taken to mean something negative when it has SO many incredibly positive meanings like one who rejoices in freedom and one who gives abundantly. In that sense of the word, 'liberal' describes Jesus to a tee. Of course Jesus wouldn't push moral boundaries, encourage abortions or advocate for homosexual marriage...this interpretation of the word 'liberal' is exactly why posting this article meant so much to me...because I have been referred to as 'too liberal' time and time again, which according to the misinterpreted American political meaning, is hurtful for a Christ follower to hear.
You can be a Christian and be liberal. You can be a Christian and be conservative. You can be a Christian and be Republican. You can be a Christian and be a democrat. The point is, none of these terms can define us and we shouldn't make ourselves (or anyone else) fit into one of these boxes. Christ is the only definition by which we can truly see and know who we are. Assuming that a democrat lacks morality is unfair...just like assuming a Republican is uneducated and racist is unfair. I don't like to say things like, "I think Jesus would...etc" but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care which category we fell into, as long as we are focused on loving Him and others. That's what it's all about.
My husband says I have become a bit of a 'shock jockey'. You have no idea how weird that is for me! Me, the one who cares deeply about how she is perceived by others, the one who use to tell on herself as a child if she did anything wrong, the one who cried herself to sleep if one of her kindergarten classmates got in trouble that day, the woman who hates confrontation, hates breaking the rules and hates pushing the token...how did I end up writing material that would challenge and sometimes disturb so many?
Who knows. It's a blessing and a curse I suppose.
I'll be honest, after I read the article "Jesus Christ: Flaming Liberator" I was so incredibly blessed. I read a story of life-saving redemption and salvation. I witnessed the powerful and loving, gracious and merciful hand of Christ and I couldn't wait to share it. Imagine my surprise when it received such an uproar! I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or just my lack of thick skin, but I began to question why I write, why I put myself out there, why I challenge people to new ways of thinking when it doesn't seem to change anything at all. I was folding clothes in my son's closet and a little tear streamed down my face so I said, 'Father, I need encouragement.'
Within a few minutes I received an email from someone I didn't even know read my stuff and she filled me with positive energy that reminded me that it matters...what I do and what I say, matters. Sometimes the negative responses will outweigh the positive but that doesn't mean defeat. It means, that by the grace of God, I said something powerful and if anyone knows me, they'll know my intent was to uplift, not to harm.
I often wish that Jesus would show up in the flesh and just tell me how to feel about things. I like it when life is black and white, when there are definite rights and wrongs but I'm learning, the older I get and the more people I meet, that there still exists a lot of gray area and that I shouldn't be arrogant enough to think that I've got it all figured out.
I praise God that He has given me a steadfast spirit and an ability to grow and learn, that work together simultaneously and at the end of the day, my desire is to make Him proud.
I'd like to thank everyone who reads my ramblings and responds. I love discussion and I love debate. I learn and grow so much as a person and I challenge others to be steadfast yet malleable. We're all works in progress.