Church is the people. Misinterpretation of Yeshua?

I am concerned that our westernized view and interpretation of the Bible has caused harm to our spiritual health and emotional harm to those who don't fit the "Christian look" or the "Western Christian culture" of church. We read words in this ancient text without considering how it was interpreted into our language, missing the nuances lost in translation. We overlook the warnings of spiritual warfare.

We read clear principles and commands of a man whose title we bear, but we don't focus on how to embody those principles and integrate them into our everyday lives. It seems we miss the power in the words that were spoken, the actions that were taken, and the philosophies that were highlighted.

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We uplift letters written to specific groups of people in a particular context and time, using them as exact prescriptions for how we should operate today, despite our different time and culture. Instead, we should understand the point and strategy the writer was making to these specific people and extrapolate the spirit of the letter—unity and how to uphold Christ's commands in the opposing culture they were a part of.

Perhaps the true deception occurred when Roman officials syncretized their customs with Christianity, turning this lifestyle into a well-known religious political force to dominate the world in the name of God. Christianity now feels like pop culture, with many bands playing different songs with varying messages, rather than one band with many sounds and songs rooted in the principles and commands of Christ—loving God with everything and loving your neighbor as yourself.

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Maybe that was the goal of the enemy: to have people miss the point, get caught up in the wrong things, and popularize a movement so it could be reduced to a day, buildings, and forms of branding, using what was supposed to unify and liberate as a religion to divide and oppress. There's a bigger battle happening, and what we see physically is just a manifestation of what's happening in the spiritual realm.

Jesus did not come to establish Christianity. He never said that. He came to establish peace between the Creator and the created. He came to show the way, the truth, and the light through how he lived. He came to set us free from human-made entities, yet it seems we can't help but create systems that falsely replicate divinity.

Watching the series, "The Chosen," reinforced the belief that our spiritual faith is lived out every day in community. It's about gathering to break bread whenever we can and being with one another. These words truly get written in our hearts when they are lived out through our bodies. It's a lifestyle based on principles, experienced every day. We encounter Christ through our love in community, we grow together, work out conflicts, share, change, and bear witness to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.

It's about sharing resources and ensuring our community is without lack. The biggest sin I see is the westernized culture of individuality. Yes, we are distinct beings, but that can be celebrated in community.

I could be wrong, but whatever this is, it doesn't seem to align with the spirit of Christ at times, and I'm concerned about our spiritual blindness. We need to wake up! Embracing a lifestyle centered on community, love, and shared resources can help us break free from the individualistic mindset that hinders true unity and growth.