"Jesus!"

I'm not a Christian. Well-maybe I am...

I'm not a Conservative.Well-maybe I am...

I'm not a Liberal. Well-maybe I am...

As my children and I celebrate Independence Day this weekend, we've been inundated with the annual regurgitation of the founding-history of the United States of America. With that history is often paired with faith - a faith in "God". My kids have often been confused with the conflicting messages of "America's faith and family". What they see on the news, in the halls of their schools, and in the leadership skills of those whom they're expected to follow and respect.

What is "faith"? Is it God? If so, does God enter into the daily lives of you and me? Is God relevant today? 

Traditional church attendance has dramatically dropped in the United States over the past generation and has nearly vanished in Europe. 

Few I know would confess to the idea of regular church attendance. Fewer would confess that their faith (in something bigger than their bank account and finely groomed lawns) plays any significant role in the decisions they make on a Monday afternoon or Friday night.

I troll on Facebook (yep - I sure do) and see many "faith-based" posts regarding car accidents, hospital stays, tragic losses, lost pets, and baptisms. I see "faith-based" rants on social media denouncing one faith or another. I witness men, women, and children utilizing their faith or God as a weapon for their own agenda or amusement. 

Can you tell me or anyone else what you BELIEVE? Yes - I am asking you. It's NOT taboo to know what you believe and why you believe it. I'm not offending you by asking something "too personal' Answer the question - what you do believe? And yes I just may judge you...

When you have to make tough choices - how do you decide what is right and what is wrong? 

When dozens of young gay and straight men and women are murdered by a lone gunman, are you outraged? 

Why?

When three men walk into an airport and with evil intention murder dozens of travelers, are you outraged?

Why?

When a white police officer kills a black teenager with his service revolver, are you outraged? Are you further outraged by the riotous violence that takes place afterward...?

Why?

When you're let in on the dirty little secret at the neighborhood poker party that your next-door neighbor is sleeping with the married man three houses away, are you outraged?

Why?

When you witness on social media, the perfect family having the perfect vacation and you're stuck at home on a holiday because you're a single mom, are you outraged?

Why?

I made a decision a few years back to end my boundless attempts to be a perfect person. For decades, I vacillated between perfection and excuses. I had compiled a bounty of inconsistencies and in turn hurt others and myself.

But...today Jesus leads me in a better life-pursuit. One of imperfection, hypocrisy, and "f"-bombs. That's right, JESUS CHRIST leads me to understand my imperfect place in this world. I cuss too much, drink cocktails too frequently, and skip church too often.

I am NOT asking you to believe in Jesus. I'm not asking you to believe in Christianity, faith, hope, church, the cross, genuflecting, Baptists, Muslims, Jews... In fact, the belief of any of these aforementioned ideas can seem hollow and unfulfilling...

(You wouldn't do something just because someone told you to do it in some silly blog, would you?)

DON'T GO TO CHURCH - it's a terrible place to find your faith! Churches, synagogues, mosques, and baseball stadiums are just buildings - you won't find faith or God, or Jesus and you certainly WON'T find peace and happiness. (Psst - God isn't there - he wouldn't be found dead in a place where everyone smiles and seems friendly - He already died once and came back, he's not planning on dying again over a sanctuary that costs millions of dollars...)

What I AM asking you to do - is ASK YOURSELF, "what do I really believe?" "In what or who do I place my faith?"

Is your faith in your bank account, your looks, your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your career, your home, your neighborhood, the fact that Starbucks will be there on Tuesday morning...?

Or is there something BIGGER?

Believe in something that doesn't shift and move... believe in consistency, believe in longevity, believe in trust.

KNOW why you're offended, know why you become angry at injustices, unfairness, and tragedy. Know WHY you cry tears of joy from a Facebook post, the overdue telephone conversation with Dad, or an on-field Royals baseball celebration...

Don't go another Independence Day drifting through life assuming in what or who you place your faith. BEGIN - by asking yourself, "Why do I believe in what I believe...?"

Why do I place my faith in Jesus? Because the Guy is cool. He makes sense, he's logical, consistent, kind, powerful, strong, compassionate, inclusive. But most of all - He LOVES me despite my failings and poor choices.

Now go - ask, seek, you just may find...

-Billy