If you’re a young adult wrestling with the idea of going to church and attaching yourself to organized religion, I want you to know that I get it. I understand. Many of the options out there might seem a little strange: somber people sitting quietly in dark spaces. And they light candles. Older Christians can relate to all that talk of the end being near. But, I imagine that when you have your whole life ahead of you and want direction for it, hearing that everything is broken including you is a little off putting. You already knew the world was messed up when you stepped away from it to look for hope and inspiration for your life. Be assured the message of Jesus isn’t gloom and doom. Jesus is about making everything whole again, including you. 

Being a Christian is having a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. His life is an open book—the Bible. If you follow him around for a while in that book, you will come to love him deeply. Notice where he was willing to go and who he was willing to befriend. Think about what he taught with his stories and sermons. Watch him pray. I like watching him deal with those entrenched in their religion. Above all, understand that his self-sacrifice defines love.

No matter what you may have heard, please take Jesus at his word. “I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness” (John 10:10 GNT).