Saved (Draft, from October/November 2009)

Picture a girl
raised all around by strong personalities:
the kind of people who actually enjoy debating politics and theology,
people who show their love by the effort put into teasing.
Now grow her up in a strong academic environment,
introduce her to a poet or two who know how to touch souls with their lips,
teach her that expression is a good thing,
hand her a pen,
and then ask her what she believes.
You might get an answer that sounds something like this:

"Dear fundamentalist minds that claim to be in line with the King:

Life is  a constant searching,
checking the balance between myself and my Deity.
Faith has nothing to do with theology.
It doesn't stem from what I think or whether we agree.
And faith shouldn't be rooted in systems;
Jesus told us to follow and trust, obey, believe in, and love GOD.

This is why I don't understand
when you tell me to have a relationship with GOD
and then tell me to look for Them in this Book.
You tell me GOD is constant,
but when I ask you what GOD thinks about American politics
this ancient Middle Eastern text is where you look.
If GOD is constant, then Their words can not be contained between two covers.
If the Creator, Spirit, Savior are not bound by beginning and end,
then Their words are not limited to what was written then.

I am not seeking to invalidate the Bible - disjointed, incomplete, and lost in translation though it seems.
I know I cannot get where I'm going unless I know where the others have been.
But once I read the history,
once I understand GOD's trends,
let me believe in the GOD who says "I AM,"
let me love the God who not only was back then but who is.

I believe in a Savior, but Jesus doesn't just rescue me from a hell underground with fire and scary things.
My Savior seeks to save me from all places where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
My Savior hasn't invited me to a white-washed after-life heaven that lacks diversity.
Jesus saved me for the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth filled with justice and manifested peace.
I was saved from too much structure, from too many rules and legalities.
I was saved so the Word could live in me, take on my flesh and become Poetry
flowing like water that lives and breathes from this belly full-to-bursting with what this world needs.

I believe in a Spirit who roams this earth begging people to live for the reason Christ died.
My Spirit believes that the word "crucify" loses some of it's meaning
when we forget that the cross broke our chains and set us free.
Christ died peeling off the labels of man, woman, saint, sinner, worker, and thief.
Christ's flesh was put to death so that we might become partners with Perfected Deity.
My Spirit reaches into women's souls with hands that know
more than any man's will ever be soft enough to hold.
It speaks fluently every language that exists, even the dead ones,
and creates a space where, in Christ, these dry bones can stand up and live.
The Spirit knows more than any eyes will ever see.
It looks past deviant behavior to see beauty.
It loves the abstract representations of humanity
beyond the Pharisees' ability understand why all lines are not straight,
why some spheres are queer, and why it is always more important to record what people say than to interpret what you hear.

This Savior
This Spirit
This Love!
This is GOD by whom the universe was made,
Jesus by whom the path was paved,
and the Spirit-filled life for which we were saved.