Imagine

by Rob Lohr

I’m one of the lucky ones.

I attended a Lutheran school from 3rd grade all the way through graduation. I was confirmed, helped out in church services as an acolyte, went to Monday night bible studies in high school, actively participated in our church’s youth group including going on several mission trips, and I even helped teach confirmation as a senior. In fact some of my fondest memories of high school came from the church; from traveling to Juarez Mexico to San Francisco to a Blackfoot indian reservation outside of Glacier National Park.Though I’m far from perfect (which anyone that knows me can attest to) church and religion set up a foundation for who I am today.

Now I’m 27 years old, almost a decade out of highschool. For the last nine years I haven’t attended a single church service that wasn’t either on Christmas, Easter, a wedding or a funeral; nor would I even come close to identifying myself as Lutheran. “Christian” would even be a stretch.

Yet still I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

I should probably explain.

After high school I went off to college and like most college kids start discovering what kind of individual I was and who I wanted to be; questioning previous assumptions and beliefs, learning new things, meeting a wide variety of people. I moved away from the church, but it was and still is a very important part of who I am. 

Over the years spirituality appears to be falling out of religion. Personal faith becoming less important than following rules, custom, and tradition; both ideologically and socially. Most importantly and disturbingly, what happened to the LOVE?

           

There’s the Westboro Baptist church that blames earthquakes and tsunamis on gay people, pickets soldiers funerals, and holds up signs that read “God hates _____”. Recently North Carolina’s lovely Pastor Worley who called for all homosexuals and lesbians to be penned up in an electric fence to die off has made headlines. Those are a couple stories out of countless ones. You can also go back and look at the historical record. One of the single largest contributors to conflict has been religion.  Where’s the love?  It gets even more ridiculous when the 3 major ones; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, are constantly fighting like crazy.  You may not be aware but they believe in a TON of the same stuff including the same god. It even goes beyond just beliefs and enters politics; Pro Life/Choice, equality, gay marriage, capital punishment, and the list goes on. All of this conflict from religions that generally value love. What is wrong with us?  What happened to the love?

I’d like to leave you with a thought. Did Jesus judge gays, prostitutes, other cultures, the diseased, the homeless, or the poor? To quote Joan Osbourne, “What if god was one of us?” What would god think about what we’ve become, about all the love that’s seemingly been forgotten? The bible records only two commandments given by Jesus, one being applicable regardless of your beliefs: Love your neighbor as yourself. That concept is a daily struggle for me. However, I’m going to try to at least once per day to show love where I normally wouldn’t, and I challenge you to do the same. In the words of John Lennon:

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living life in peace

You, you may say

I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one

I hope some day you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine love.
-RL