of unicorns...and rainbows...and "rules & regulations..."

 "Wouldn't it be cool if we didn't have to label ourselves, in skin color or gender preference, or age, or religion, or anything that separated us, for just being? I think that happens in the unicorn, rainbow world. I want to live there...Because my heart just can't handle this so called reality. Please!."  ~ a Facebook friend of mine, speculating on being in a place free from just being an adult...for the time being...

"Imagine there's no heaven...it's easy of you try...no hell below us...above us only sky..."
John Lennon died 35 years ago. His visionary words have been echoing in my head for many years. Imagine....if there WERE no religion. Hmmmm...no religion.

Open your mind and really see this for a moment.
When Jesus came, it was to untangle us from the many "rules" and "laws" that were plaguing people back in that time period. "In order to get to heaven, you have to do this and this and this... oh! and you absolutely MUST NOT do that and that and that..."
 ...then, in a lonely stable, came news of a King...but what King was this...a CHILD? a BABY? Ha! Some King, right?
 ...and so the world continued on....until one day He walked to the River Jordan and asked some wild-haired crazy man to baptize Him!
"I should be the one asking YOU..." came the argument.
"Baptize Me, John!" came the reply...then the heavens opened up. God smiled down. This was the first step of many for His Son!

Jesus taught us by example. "What must I do to obtain Heaven?" came the often asked question. Jesus told us parables...many of which the people could identify with. Gone were the "rules and regulations." In its place were two commands...only TWO: Love God as much as you love YOURSELF...and LOVE OTHERS as much as you LOVE GOD! There it was. How can you break any "rules or regulations" based on that simple premise?

Fast forward fifteen hundred years. We had just the Christian church (the Islamic belief came at about 600 years after Jesus was crucified, but we are dealing with Christianity here). Christians became divided through schisms and breaking away. Suddenly one Church became several...then several more. Everyone had their own ways of worshiping God. Once again we had "Rules and Regulations." The line in the sand once more divided people from God.

Today we are in the midst of world turmoil as extremists are claiming lives in the hundreds...in the thousands. They believe they are serving some god by killing those who believe in the ONE GOD.
Can you see how "rules and regulations" are destroying us? Why do we need to lay down parameters in order to worship God who became Man to show us how to worship in the first place?

I was at a Christmas get together in which the topic of conversation was how someone was not allowed at a church simply because that person was not found "worthy" by this "church."
Not worthy....of church? Who did these people think they were? It sounded to me of the time when Jesus forgave people who were not found worthy of others to even be alive! Prostitutes, tax collectors...SINNERS! Not worthy? Why...Jesus found them all to BE worthy!

Yet today, listen to the news...once more...we are not found worthy by schisms and sects and orders and others who feel they need to behead us, to crucify us, to execute us...to SEPARATE us from the Father....
do they not realize that GOD has already CHOSEN us? By His Cross and His redemption He has redeemed the world...He is our Savior! We don't have to jump through any hoops save one: to give up all we have and to FOLLOW HIM! Give up greed, give up lust, give up pride...just go...follow Him and because you are following Him, you will want to open your arms wide and wish for others to come with you...
No rules...NO regulations...just LOVE!
IMAGINE......yes...imagine....then...act upon this dream, for it IS a reality...but YOU must allow it!

Today's news:
in Minnesota today, a middle aged woman was seeing holding the door open for someone whom society deemed unworthy of being granted the time of day. She was seen comforting the sick, she was heard to utter "God loves you--and so do I!" She gave solace to the needy...in short...she was something of an oddity...because she cared."




Wow...IMAGINE!!!