Why I Wear a Cross

If you have ever met me face to face (which is a fabulous experience) then you will have seen my silver cross necklace. I never take it off. It’s just your average small cross on a twisted silver chain. It does not have the power to exorcise demons or unlock Narnia. It’s just always around my neck.

If this is your first time to my blog (hi!) then you should know that I am a Christian. I try to follow the guidelines for living that this guy named Jesus laid out for humanity. I started following him when I was around 14 and that’s when I started wearing this cross.

I want to point out the reasons that I DON’T wear a cross. 

• Fashion (people who know me would laugh at the idea of Laura following a trend – unless it’s cheap)
• Evangelism/recruiting (really not my style)
• Giving hot Christian boys a signal that I’m a follower and single (okay that one might be true)

Jokes aside, here’s the reason I do wear a cross.

One day I was shopping with my dad and I started an argument with him about the kind of toothpaste we should buy. Yes, I know it’s a stupid argument but ain’t nobody comes between me and my Crest. Anyway I was really ticked at him and I kept arguing even when another person came down the aisle. I leaned down to show my dad that this was most certainly not the right kind of toothpaste that I desired. My cross dangled in front of my glasses and I stopped. I realized that I needed to be more like the person that I claim to follow.

The real reason that I wear my cross is basically because I want to remember. It’s kind of like tying a string around your finger. It reminds me that I’m living for a purpose and that I should be showing love to the people around me. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. If I say that I am a follower of Jesus then I should act like him.

 Now that being said, there is a reason that my cross has a twisted chain. That makes it very strong and unable for me to break it. Why? Because I always pull on it when I hear about Christians who hate gay people, picket funerals, predict the end of time, make uneducated statements, manipulate people, kill abortionists, yell at Wiccans and atheists, and just being jerks. 

My eyes teared up when I typed that. I hate the fact that I share a name with those people. I always pull on my cross when I hear about those things because I want to cut my ties with them.

However, the Bible tells me that these people are my brothers and sisters. This is my family. And they are so screwed up!! But this cross around my neck declares that we are come from the same blood. And I mess up and I’m sure that my brothers and sisters are ashamed to have me in their family too. But I like to think they look at their cross necklace and remember that they have to love people, no matter how hard they pull on the chain.