I embrace the Christianity taught by Jesus Christ which teaches that to be right with God a person MUST BE PERFECT. This is such a high standard that no one can possibly achieve it. If a person were to be 99.9999999999999% perfect but slip up once in one small detail, they are disqualified.
However, Jesus DID live such a perfect life and has said that if we would quit trying to meet God's high standards through our own efforts, that the perfection he achieved would be ours . . . freely . . . without strings . . . forever . . .
The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:1 said: "There is therefore NOW NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ."
So, salvation, and restoration of the broken relationship with God, the complete removal of all our sinfulness, past, present, and future, the joy and peace and security of not having to worry about "did I do it right", the very spirit of God dwelling inside our core, is all freely given, with no strings, no "as long as", no requirements to keep trying to be perfect, no requirement to attend religious services, no requirement to give money, no rules to keep, no expectation that sin in our lives will stop . . . NOTHING, to anyone and everyone when they admit they can't be good enough on their own and simply understand that Jesus has already done it all for us.
I know this may sound somewhat different than Christianity as most people think about it, but many teachers down through time have twisted the wonderful message that God has done all this for us only because he loves us all so very much and wants to have a close, intimate relationship with his beloved creation.
I know you are very focused on love, as am I, and I have found that knowing that I am loved THIS MUCH, makes it possible to really reach out to and care for and love those who cross my path. I am not perfect at it, but the more I grasp God's great love to me the easier it becomes to love . . . even those who are hostile to me.
Sorry to be so long winded, but this is such a wonderful message it kinda bubbles up inside of me.
