That Christianity is all about rules........

Before I became a Christian I viewed religion as a whole from a purely academic stance. I have studied many religions throughout my education and had come to the conclusion that all of them were simply about rules.

My understanding of Christianity was that there were Ten Commandments brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses which Jesus then simplified to the two commandments 'Love God' and 'Love your neighbour'. Which although simple to say, I thought of as extremely complicated to follow because there were all the 'little rules' that followed on from the Big Ten such as looking after the environment, becoming responsible for all of your actions, giving your money away, not being too materialistic, no sex before marriage, no excess drinking etc etc etc. It seemed like such an effort to be a part of this religion that I wondered why anyone bothered - surely it was easier to live life for myself, caring for others but not have a judge that held me accountable for everything. Sure, in the short term it was but I've found some interesting changes in my worldview and within me that have happened as a result not of being bound by Jesus, but by being set free by Him.

I was talking to a friend yesterday that I don't get to see very often and he asked me how the whole 'church thing' was going and it led me into a conversation and a path of understanding that I had not been down before. I told him that it was going well and that it has only changed me for the good. At which point I found myself explaining how Jesus has and is continuing, to change me. This led me to the statement 'By having an ideal in Jesus I find myself changing for the better and free to be me in my entirety.' I once was told that being a Christian allows you to be more you, it doesn't change who you are but makes who you are. I thought at the time that this person was talking a load of tripe because I didn't think it possible to be more me! But that is my exact experience.

I have found that the 'rules' that had put me off (amongst a whole range of other things) are the thing that allowed me to become the true me that God wants me to become. I am not a better person for following rules like a duty, because I HAVE to, I am a happier person because I feel that the guidance I receive from God through the Bible and Prayer takes the pressure OFF of me. I am feeling more and more free from the strains of society and what it expects of me and more focused on my purpose as a child of God.

An example of this would be my self esteem. I have had low self esteem for as long as I care to remember brought about by many different factors. I had let this govern my actions for so long that when I heard that Jesus had died on the cross for ME I couldn't accept it, but when I did it became my new bedrock. I now know, even at times when I feel like i've forgotten, that I am loved by God. This is so powerful a realisation that I cannot do anything but worship Him and thank Him for His grace. I do this by following Jesus' example. I cannot begin to tell you how glad I am to have the guidance of the Bible (and my Church) in order to know how to glorify God, because without it I don't think I'd have a clue! The 'rules' are not rigid thou shalt's and thou shalt not's, they are suggestions that I now follow through CHOICE and they are helping me to accept me.


There are many other ways that the 'rules' have help me to understand myself and accept myself more and I will cover those later but sufice to say that all in all the rules that put me off before are the path that has and will continue to lead me closer to God and the real me.