There were endless checklists and progress charts tracking my growth in the Christian life. By the time I got to junior high school, I was committed to looking like the best Christian kid I could be. This is a hard place to be if you’re not exactly sure Jesus loves you, or even likes you. I kind of felt like I was a Christian only because the Bible says “God is love,” and so if I signed on the dotted line, he had to take me. I was exploiting his own loophole.
