My Passionate Love of . . . .

I have a passionate love of my religion, which is Christianity. Although I was exposed to other religions, Christianity is the religion I have grown up in, and I would not turn away from it. Other religions do have some similarities to Christianity but they are not the same as Christianity and I don't believe that other religions can fill that "gap" every human has.  My religion has taught me a lot of things about living.

My religion is based on salvation.  In other religions, you must do good deeds in order to receive salvation.  But in Christianity, no amount of good deeds can bring you true salvation.  Only through accepting Jesus' sacrifice will one truly have salvation, with no strings attached.  As a result of His sacrifice, Christians don't stress out about doing anything to receive salvation.  You are just simply happy and have a big "sigh" of relief.  Salvation makes you truly free, a true trait of being a Christian.

Along with salvation, my religion is big on unconditional love.  Other religions have conditional love, based on deeds or actions, but not Christianity.  Unconditional love ranges from random acts of kindness to huge dedication to helping those in need, regardless of their deeds or actions.  A good example of unconditional love is Jesus Christ.  When he came to Earth, he didn't hang out with the "holier than thou" type of people, He hung out with tax collectors, ignorant fishermen, and regular people.  In other words, common sinners.  As He once said, "It is not the healthy who need  a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come for the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:12-13).  And later, he died for them, so that they can go to heaven and be with Jesus in paradise forever.  Dying for us so that we can be saved ~ you can't get a greater love than that.  With that in mind, the result is a great spread of love for everyone, even those who don't deserve it.

The way I see it, my religion is a true religion of peace and love.  It does have rules (what peaceful religion doesn't?), but they are rules that give us peace and love for everyone.  Though people say that Christianity isn't a loving religion or say that there are other religions that are more loving than my religion, I disagree strongly.  In fact, I don't see my religion a religion.  Rather, I would call it my "relationship" with God through Jesus Christ, his Son and my Savior.