Dear Christian,
There’s more than one way to walk with Jesus.
I know. I can hear you pulling up the tabs already.
Matthew 19:24. John 14:6. Matthew 7:13-14.
I’ve read them too. And I’m not saying there are multiple roads to salvation or that good vibes get your name written anywhere. That’s not what this is.
What I’m saying is: God didn’t create us as one-size-fits-all image bearers.
He made me a sarcastic person who expresses deep spiritual conviction through bar graphs and line charts. (My friends find this hilarious. God, apparently, does not.) He made someone else a poet. A mystic. A quiet-in-the-back-pew person. A doubter who keeps showing up anyway.
Different people. Same love.
Because here’s what doesn’t change — doesn’t matter your race, gender, sexuality, identity, marital status, bank account, or any of the other things you’ve been told disqualify you — God created you. And he loves you. Period.
We are not on the same path. We were never supposed to be.
A friend of mine said it better than I can: “Our pursuit of Christlikeness must be Holy Spirit-led. It is not a self-help project. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, just faithful and totally submitted to him.”
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
Jesus does ask us to live differently after we decide to follow him. But he doesn’t hand you a list on day one and say fix all of this by Friday. That’s not transformation. That’s just shame with a deadline.
So.
To the Christian further along in the journey — your path is yours. People may look to you for guidance, and that’s a gift. But don’t hand them a map to where you’ve been. Help them find where God is calling them. Those aren’t always the same place.
To the Christian just starting out — you don’t have to change everything at once. God isn’t waiting for you to get your act together before he shows up. He’s already here. One day at a time.
To the Christian somewhere in between — keep studying. Keep asking questions. Keep tuning in to that voice that doesn’t sound like the current Christian fad or the loudest person in the room. That’s the one worth following.
Love,
Ashley
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Dear Christian, 