Christianity Oasis Forum

[Sylvia]

This step means a whole lot to me. When I was younger I was told to be careful or you would never know God's perfect Will for your life. I have mentioned this before. When God lead my husband and I to get married; intertwining our two families together in the name of Jesus. We were told by some meaningful Christians that we were living in sin and would not be forgiven. We were told by people I had known all my life that we could not do any service for the Lord in the church. We only could attend. I was teaching Sunday School and my husband was a deacon. The same church where we had gotten married now had a different pastor who said we were living in sin because we both had previous spouses who had left us.
We left the church. God sent us to a different church where we have been for over fifteen years.
I have more stories. I need to get this out. After graduating Bible college I decided to work in a Christian church that was not exactly my denomination of my home church. When I came back to get more clothes I was met by my home pastor, my parents and another Christian man who said I was sinning by working there. I was teaching little children the gospel. I was sinning?
My Dad used to not talk for weeks at at time if we upset him. sometimes we didn't even know who upset him. He was not a Christian at the time.
He later came to know the Lord. But growing up with that and also going to the church I did made me feel for years that if I upset God he would not talk to me either. Even now someone asked me to do something for them in Oasis and when I couldn't do it I automatically assumed this person was done with me too. I even had deleted Oasis out of my favorites. God dealt with me to come back here and to my surprise and delight the person I thought was all done with me understood.
For years I thought this is what christianity was. Conditional Love.
Gods love is unconditional. Jesus went and sat with the rejects of the world and ate with them, talked to them, showed love to them. The woman at the well He told her about living water. Others wouldn't give her the time of day.
I loved what was said in this step: " when we fall, get back up"
2 Corin. 12:9 "My strength is made perfect in weakness."
You all have been used by God in helping me to heal some old wounds.
God Bless you All and Thank you
Love
Sylvia

[mlg]

Sylvia,

I read what you have written and I grin from ear to ear. I see how far you have traveled since you began these steps, and you are finding agape(unconditional love). This is the love Jesus had for you and me when he died on the cross, it's a love that as Christians we should emit to everyone, whether they are worthy of that love or not. I see you letting go of the past issues now, and seeing that you are loved and worthy of that love, and you are now giving your love back by sharing your story with others, and continuing through until you finish these steps. Way to go Sylvia.

Take care and luv ya