Unfortunately, so many have been damaged by well intending people representing God (we call ourselves "Christians") and they have been pushed away from God, sometimes permanently. I believe this is God's greatest sorrow. I have been on both the giving and receiving end of this misrepresentation. I've had a relationship with God for nearly 30 years now, and like any relationship, it has not always been easy. Sometimes I've been very angry at God, not wanting to have anything to do with Him. But like any real, true love, He does not go away. So I always come back to realizing the love is really there, and come back to my relationship with Him, which never went away even when I withdrew.

Now I could attempt to impress you with my theological knowledge, and tell you all the things you need to do to have a relationship with God, but I'm fairly certain you've heard all of these things before and that this is where you would tune out if that's what I did. So instead, I'm going to be quite controversial, some might even call me a heretic, but I'm going to say it anyway. This is what God wants from you – YOU, simply YOU – and the truth is, He loves you just as you are. He doesn't expect or even ask you to change your clothes, your lifestyle, your sexual orientation, your language, your eating or drinking habits, your problems, addictions, whatever the worst thing you can think about yourself (past or present) so that He can love you...I've read the bible cover to cover many times and nowhere does it say you must change anything in order for Him to love you. To the contrary, what Jesus demonstrated with His own life was that He loves you exactly as you are right now! He loved you yesterday, He loves you today, and He will love you tomorrow, whether or not you acknowledge Him, know Him, or have a relationship with Him. After all these years, this is my conclusion – God wants you, period. He wants a relationship with you, period. He wants the authentic you.

Period.

So this is the best good news ever, you can come to Him exactly as you are. There's no magic formula, like going to church a certain number of times per week (or going to church at all), praying a particular way, or reading the bible so many times a day. Like anything in life, and every other relationship that exists, each individual MUST deal with anything and everything AS AN INDIVIDUAL. It is not right, and I will go as far as to say it is not God's choice, for a church or a group (we call ourselves "Christians") to decide what is right for any individual. God is perfectly capable of holding up HIS side of the relationship with ANYBODY who chooses to be in relationship with Him.

Fortunately this is t2008 and they no longer burn people at the stake for saying such things.

What's most important to me isn't a "movement" or a "church" or a group called "Christians", what's most important to me is what God truly wants. What I've come to realize is it's not more programs or more churches or more "Christians" who do everything right, He wants authentic relationship with YOU, with ME. Period. Again, there's no magic formula, God doesn't care if you say the "right" words, do the "right" things, He cares that you reach out to Him and that you are REAL in your relationship with Him.

As I said, I know expressing such things will be considered heretical (a big theological word meaning WRONG!!!) by many Christians, but you know what? That's not important to me anymore. That may sound harsh, but actually it is blatant authenticity. I know beyond any doubt that God wants relationship with His creation (that's ALL of us). I also know those of us who call ourselves "Christians" have done serious damage to God's ability to have relationship with those who do not yet know Him, and even some who do. And I am choosing to stop that cycle for myself by being the real person He created me to be. I won't be someone who quotes all the right scriptures at you so that you finally give in and say the right prayer so that you can be added to the "us and them" list. I have no right to condemn anyone, or tell anyone else how to live. I believe the real heresy is misrepresenting God to those who do not know Him, and even those who do. I know Him, I have known Him for two thirds of my entire life, and it comes down to one simple and basic concept - God wants to have a relationship with YOU. Like ANY relationship, the particulars are between you and Him.

As for being a perpetrator of misrepresenting God, I have come to realize my mistakes and choose to repent of them. The word "repent" literally means "to turn away from", so I choose to "turn away from" those things that I've come to realize push people away from God. And part of representing Him correctly means taking a stand for what I've come to believe authentically represents Him, even when that stand is controversial.