Freedom of Religion? As long as you're Christian?

The past couple of days I've found myself involved in a couple of debates about the circulation miscommunicating that President Obama has decided to ignore the long standing National Day of Prayer and instead proclaimed a National Day of Prayer for Muslims. Neither statement is true. The President did not sign the proclamation last year as has been customary by his predecessors. He chose to observe the day privately. And I would venture to bet most of us Christians also prayed privately. He also did not put into effect any National Muslim Day of anything. Where am I going with this?

First and foremost, I don't need a specific day set aside to pray. I pray daily, and actually, continuously. As a Christian, of course I appreciate the nod toward my religion and the fact over the course of history such a day has been set aside. I don't dispute we were built upon Christian principles and started as a Christian nation. And, because that's the religion that makes sense to me and the one I deem to be the truth, of course any political event bringing attention is good, in my opinion.

However, all of us, Christian and non-Christian alike, must remember that our founders also left their original country as a result of religious persecution seeking religious freedom. And if our country truly wanted to practice religious tolerance, we wouldn't be worried if the President did in fact set aside a day.....

This is a fine line for me.

But I also believe that religion, or spirituality, or whatever you want to label it is a personal decision. My Creator gave me and everyone else on this planet Free Will. We have the intellectual ability to study, discern and decide for ourselves what makes sense.

Of course, being Christian, I have no issue with the National Day of Prayer, how it came about and the history involved. My only issue is, as a nation, we've reduced ourselves to mud slinging and fostering half-truths to suit our own purposes or agenda. As a Christian, I find this disturbing. It certainly isn't Christ-like to do so. And it doesn't make anyone want to be a part of "our group." I have so many friends "turned off" by the church and the label Christianity now holds. I am heartbroken about it and hope I can become more like Christ daily to live and teach as many as I can the true meaning of Christ Follower.

I believe in John 14:6, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And I believe in the Great Commission to share that with others. I do not, however, believe that I should become so incensed with anger that I lower myself to sharing half-truths about other people's beliefs or actions that don't support my faith. And I certainly don't believe in treating those who do not choose to follow Christ with any different level of respect than I'd give a fellow Christian.

For centuries, man has chosen to hate and slaughter others who don't believe as they do in the name of God or Christ. What if we put our energies into loving others instead? What if we put our energies into displaying the acceptance Christ displayed? Would this not help further the Kingdom more than our intolerance and hatred? Does it do us any good to force another to announce their belief in Christ verbally, if they hate us and our beliefs in their heart?

God Himself does not force us to believe in His Son. God allows us to make our choices and live with our consequences. He pursues us. He continues to knock on the door of our hearts. But He doesn't violently cause us to submit to Him. He prefers it be our choice. Why not live in God's love and display that to others and allow them to determine how they feel about it? If God does, shouldn't we?

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love. ~ 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, NLT