“The Conditional Christian” by Kresha Adams
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “Conditional” as: True only for certain values or dependent upon.
1John 2:6 says “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk the same way in which He walked.”
Luke 9:23 says “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
Romans 6:4 says “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
All the verses above have a commonality; death to self. I used to think that I loved without conditions and that there was nothing or anyone that I would allow to harden me. I was the queen of quoting 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self -seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.”
I truly believed that there wasn’t a human that had been or that would be that could make 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 nothing but words. I watched these words go from being tattooed on the tablet of my heart to being meaningless in October of 2016. I am 20 years old and I was used to a president and first lady that looked like me even though I knew it wasn’t normal. I’m old enough to know I didn’t agree with the 44th president on every policy but just young enough to be in awe that a man of his hue could be president.
This election hit me like a wall made of the very thing that breaks hearts. I am a young woman that the Lord privileged to live her humanity in blackness so my experience is different than others. I am also a millennial, American, and a follower of Christ firstly. I had been in my “Christian” bubble so long I was sleep walking past the injustices and spewed views, even in the Church and in myself. I watched people in the church turn lion and rip each other to shreds over political differences. I found myself questioning the hearts and faith of others who believed differently politically. Anger was my new identity.
This election had burst my “Christian” bubble and my eyes were opened to covert racism, bigotry, and the things I had somewhat closed my eyes to. I watched my love for God’s people and myself turn conditional. I started to think “Maybe I’m not made in the image of Christ. Maybe I am the color of crime. Maybe voting outside of the Christian norm makes me “not Christian enough”. From October 2016 to December 2016 I fell into a depression. I began questioning every relationship and friendship I had. I didn’t believe that Jesus was my God so I couldn’t believe that I could come after Him. [Luke 9:23]
My doubts were speaking louder than my devotion and I couldn’t breathe. I heard the 44th President say the day after the election “The Sun will still come up.” And I didn’t get it that day but I opened up my bible weeks later and felt the Son. The Son came and was and is. I am the I AM’S. I had forgotten that the Lord judges justly. I had forgotten that the country isn’t supposed to be a reflection of the Son but the Church is. I had forgotten that the Church is where the country goes for shelter not the other way around. In Isaiah 8 it says “Do not call conspiracy everything these people call conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord almighty is the One you are to regard as holy. He is the One you are to fear, He is the One you are to dread, and HE WILL BE A SANCTUARY.”
So maybe the climate of our country and our church’s had you like me and you forgot that you are the I AM’S. You weren’t patient or kind and you kept account of wrongs and you allowed the climate of this country to make you conditional. Spiritual refuge isn’t country it’s Christ. We are made in the image of the Triune God so the racism, self-hating, uncompassionate-ness matters to God just like it matters to us. People of God don’t get so paralyzed by the Politics and the climate of this country that you’re not imitating Christ but life. When you’re blinded by the evils of this world and you’re tempted to step out of faith and into the flesh consider this.
Everything of the flesh leads to death.
Every time you are angry and your heart beckons you to forget remember the Lord sees the injustices and the evil, Pray 1Corinthians 13:4-8 in red. Do it in remembrance of His blood that liberates and brings justice to the Jew and the Gentile. Remember, you beloved are not the missing piece that can solve the problems in this country.
Remember, no president is the missing piece to this country. This country is just missing peace. The Prince, that is.
1. God hears the groans of the oppressed and He says in psalms 72 that “He will deliver the needy who cry out, who have no one to help. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, FOR PRECIOUS IS THEIR BLOOD IN HIS SIGHT.”
2. We are not in control of what happens, only our reactions.
3. Jesus is sovereign.
4. Believe the Word of God not the world.
5. The Church is not a building, it’s a body. So you can move.
“For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Written by~Kresha Adams
Kresha is a native of Huntsville and attends Stillman College. When she isn’t doing school stuff she’s sharing the love of Jesus. Kresha wants to live in a world where everyone has a love filter and loves Starbucks and summer nights. Kresha wants a world where everyone has not just facts about Jesus but the truth about him. A world where people not only know about God but know God. Kresha wants everyone to know that it is in the pain and lows of life that you’re elevated. Kresha wants the world to know it is in God allowing the ugly experiences that we understand just how beautiful He is and we are through Him! Catch up with Kresha on her blog https://wounded2wholeblog.wordpress.com
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