The Meaning of the Christian Faith In My Life
One of the many beautiful things about faith is that it is a constant journey. Everyone takes it at their own pace, learning and growing in a way that is meaningful for them. As the child of a minister, the role faith has played in my life has changed drastically as I have grown. My journey was different from my siblings’, and while it may not have always been smooth or clear in the moment, I am only glad for the meaning faith has in my life now.
Below is an essay by a current student of USC which was written for college scholarships. It tells an intersectional story of social activism and faith, and how linked those two can be.
The Meaning of the Christian Faith In My Life
Initially, my parents wanted me to go to church for me to stay out of trouble. Over the course of my life, many things have come and gone. I’ve dropped hobbies and picked up new ones. But, one of the only things that has stayed relatively consistent during my lifetime is the role my faith has played in my life.
When people ask me the religion I practice, I tell them that I am a Christian, and sometimes, I would specifically tell them I am a United Methodist. When I was younger, I would say that without knowing what being a Christian, let alone a United Methodist really meant. I always thought that going to church was just about going to Sunday School, reading the bible, and completing worksheets. I always thought that church was just learning about all the characters and the stories in the bible. And I always thought church was just watching clips on TV of what we learned. As I grew older, it became much deeper.
Throughout last year, I was inspired by Bernie Sanders’s message of social, economic, racial, and environmental justice. One of the first things that exposed me to Sanders was his education plan. It couldn’t be more fitting. Affordability is a main issue for me and I was sold on Sanders plan for tuition-free colleges. Ever since then, I researched more on his policy positions. During his campaign, one of the many issues I learned was income and wealth inequality. He explained how people are working longer hours for lower wages, while most of the profits are going to the already wealthy. As I learned more and more about Sanders and what he stood for, I realized how much impact Jesus had on others.
I learned that Jesus wasn’t some main character in the Bible; he was a symbol for justice. He too stood with the sick and poor. He too advocated for God’s children to protect the Earth. He too was concerned about the worship of money. Many of the Gospel stories turned a light bulb on inside my head. One story in Luke discussed the Pharisees and its legal experts criticizing Jesus for eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus didn’t care. He responded, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do.” Jesus didn’t care about what others thought of him. He stood by his values of love and compassion for others while fighting injustice.
My faith has matured into the foundation of my life. It’s about following Jesus’s example in my daily life. In fact, some of the greatest leaders in history were inspired by Jesus’s teachings of love, compassion, and fighting all types of injustice. Scholar Cornel West once said, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” In a time where people live in a world of uncertainty and turmoil, I plan to stand with the oppressed and be a voice for the voiceless; that’s what Jesus would want his followers to do.