I have come to the conclusion that it is far more important for me to follow Jesus than believe in Jesus.

I have struggled to believe what I cannot. Edicts from scripture, doctrine from the church, have, at times, thrown me into terrible confusion as I realize that deep in the depths of my soul they are unbelievable.

What do I do?

Jesus says, "Follow me."

This is because it is in the following that we discover the joy of believing. All the memory verses, catechism reciting, all the hymn singing in the world mean nothing unless they are made real in our lives. When we follow by forgiving, by accepting, by loving, we discover the joyful truth of our scripture, our creeds, our hymns. Without the following, our believing is empty. Our confessing, our proclaiming are nothing but lies.

I have always been repulsed by the belligerent Christian who demands that I believe this or that but doesn’t give a hoot what I do with it. These are folk who seem to think being a Christian provides a neat excuse for treating others with disdain, even cruelty.

After all, if they don’t believe...to hell with them.

Over the years, it has become increasingly clear to me that the Christian emphasis on believing is often misdirected. It has been the cause of horrible injustices. We have murdered millions because people haven’t believed the same as we do.

Not for a minute will I accept that God withholds that wondrous love from someone just because they are a Hindu or a Jew or even an atheist.

Such a belief would make God too much like me and too little like the God revealed by Jesus.