I remember it like yesterday. Easter Sunday. I was eight, sweating in a hot pink tulle dress that my grandma made me wear, with patent leather shoes that pinched my pinky toes. The choir was loud, the preacher was louder, and the Holy Ghost was supposedly everywhere.
And then he said it.
"If you don't come up to this altar right now and give your life to Christ, you gon' burn in hell. Yes, even you, little children!"
My eyes got big. I looked at my cousin, who had just dared me to sneak a Now & Later from the corner store before church. We were doomed. My eight-year-old self was scared straight into salvation.
But as I got older, that moment always lingered in the back of my mind.
Was I saved... or just scared?
Did I believe in God, or did I just believe what I was told?
Let's Be Real.
We've all heard it.
"God is real." "God loves you." "You better get right or you're going to hell."
But have you ever stopped and asked: What do I actually believe?
Not what your mama said.
Not what the preacher yelled.
Not what your Sunday school teacher drew on the flannel board.
What do YOU believe?
Do you believe in a God who is real, who created you with purpose, who moves in your life and walks with you even when you're off track?
Or do you believe in the idea of God - the one they packaged up in rules, stained glass, and shame?
A God in Chains?
Let's talk.
Why is it that the God who's supposed to be Spirit is so often portrayed as white, blue-eyed, and surrounded by European angels with perms? Even though Revelation 1:14-15 literally says:
"His hair was white like wool, as white as snow, and his feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace."
Wool hair? Bronze feet? Sounds a lot like us. That melanin. That textured hair.
So why did they paint God into something else?
Control. Colonization. Fear.
Sometimes God was used as a tool - not for freedom, but for bondage. To make people obey. To keep people in place.
But that's not the God I believe in.
Pause & Think: What Version of God Were You Introduced To?
Take a second. Was your God a loving Father? Or a cosmic rulebook?
Did you meet Him through peace... or through punishment?
Write about that moment:
"The first time I was introduced to God, I felt..."
"They told me God was..."
"Now I think God is..."
Why Is There Still So Much Evil?
Now here's the real tension. If God is real and good... why is the world so jacked up?
Why are there wars, racism, poverty, murder, rape, corruption, broken systems, and broken hearts?
Why would a loving God allow so much pain?
Here's the hard truth: Love requires choice.
God gave humanity free will - the same way a parent has to let a grown child live their life. We messed up the world, not God. But God didn't leave us in the mess. He sent hope. He sent healing. He sent help.
He sent Jesus.
Let's Talk Sin for Real
Why do we act like some sins are worse than others? Especially when it comes to homosexuality?
You ever notice that?
People will skip over lying, greed, jealousy, gossip, pride, and fornication - but let somebody come out as gay, and suddenly they got a sermon ready.
But the Bible says:
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23
ALL. Not some. Not just "them."
And guess what? Jesus didn't die for perfect people.
He died for the liar, the cheater, the addict, the broken, the lost, the confused, the gay, the straight, the unsure, and the fake-it-til-you-make-it church folks.
That's all of us.
Faith vs. Facts
So why do I believe in someone I've never seen?
Because I've felt Him.
Not in a spooky way. Not in a churchy way. But in the moments when I knew I should've been dead and I wasn't.
When I got out of situations I couldn't talk my way out of.
When peace showed up in the middle of my breakdown.
When I prayed, and something shifted.
That wasn't coincidence.
That was God.
Quick Truths:
Jesus didn't die Friday and rise Sunday morning based on modern Western 24-hour time. Hebrew time counts "day" as any part of a day. Friday (day 1), Saturday (day 2), Sunday (day 3). It checks out.
Heaven and Hell? They're real - but a lot of folks preaching them have no idea how they actually work.
Tattoos? Haircuts? Drinking? Study the Scriptures for yourself. Don't just take a verse without context.
Scriptures to Chew On:
Romans 3:23 - All have sinned
Revelation 1:14-15 - Jesus' true appearance
John 3:16 - God's love for the world
Galatians 5:1 - Freedom in Christ
Matthew 23 - Religious hypocrisy
The Takeaway:
God is real.
But you gotta find Him for yourself.
Not in rules. Not in fear. Not in traditions that were passed down but never questioned.
Ask. Seek. Knock. (Matthew 7:7)
You don't have to be perfect.
You just have to be open.
Journal This:
What do you believe?
Who taught you what you believe?
If God is real... what would He say to you right now?