THEY PUSHED YOU AWAY — BUT GOD NEVER DID.

A Message to the Pagan, the Atheist, and the Indigenous Soul…..

The Introduction: You Were Right to Walk Away

If you’ve spent your life avoiding Christianity, there’s something you need to hear: you might not have been rejecting God at all—you may have just been rejecting a lie told in His name. And if that’s true, then I don’t blame you. In fact, neither does God. What many call “Christianity” today isn’t the faith Jesus lived and bled for—it’s a twisted, mutated performance that misrepresents the very character of the One it claims to worship. Many have stood on stages preaching a gospel of fear and control, while others have wielded the Bible like a weapon rather than an invitation to healing. If that’s the gospel you saw—one that condemned without compassion, excluded without mercy, and judged without love—you were right to walk away. Because that wasn’t Jesus.

God Reaches Further Than Religion Ever Could

Long before missionaries, megachurches, or denominational statements, there was a God who walked with man in the garden. There was a voice that spoke to Moses through a burning bush while he was alone in the wilderness, not in a temple or a service. Moses wasn’t looking for God—God found him. (Exodus 3:2-4) He said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people… so I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7–8, NASB). That same God still sees. Still rescues. Still comes down.

You don’t need a Bible degree or a church background to meet God. “The heavens tell of the glory of God; and their expanse declares the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1, NASB). Creation itself is a sermon—every tree, every ocean, every heartbeat echoes the divine. Romans 1:20 declares, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived… so that they are without excuse.” Not because they had a preacher—but because creation preaches.

You Were Not the Problem—They Were

If religious people made you feel like God hated you, let me say with full authority: they were wrong. Jesus didn’t come for the perfect. He came for the sick. “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17, NASB) But here’s the catch: the ones He said that to were the religious elite. The self-righteous professors of God who couldn’t see their own infection. Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27) and said, “You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13, NASB)

If they slammed the door in your face, it wasn’t God who did it. It was man. And the punishment for pushing people away from the kingdom is greater than most understand. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6, NASB)

God Has Always Made a Way for the Outsider

You may not have heard a gospel preacher, but that doesn’t mean God never reached for you. He came to Abraham when he was a pagan. He appeared to Hagar when she was cast out. He raised up a Gentile widow to feed Elijah. He saved an entire pagan city—Nineveh—because they turned when they heard a message they barely understood. Jesus Himself declared, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice.” (John 10:16, NASB)

And then there’s the thief on the cross—no baptism, no church membership, no moral resume. Just a broken, dying man who looked at Jesus and said, “Remember me.” That was enough. “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43, NASB) No ritual. Just recognition. That’s all God ever wanted.

You Were Infected—Not Rebellious

Christianity has done a poor job explaining sin. They’ve made it sound like you’re evil. That you’re a disgrace. That you’re too far gone. But here’s the truth: sin is not just something you do—it’s something you inherited. It’s a blood infection. Passed from Adam. Scripture says, “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12, NASB) You were born into it. So was I. So was everyone.

But God didn’t send Christ to forgive you of the infection. He sent Him to cure you. And one of the symptoms of that cure is release from guilt and shame. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness (aphesis: release, liberation) of our wrongdoings.” (Ephesians 1:7, NASB with Greek context)

Religion Gave You a Performance—God Offers You a Cure

Maybe you saw the megachurch pastors who lived in mansions while the poor starved. Maybe you were turned off by the Christians who shouted at parades but ignored their neighbor. Maybe you saw abuse, manipulation, pride, or hypocrisy—and thought, if that’s what God looks like, I want no part of it. And you were right. That’s not what God looks like. That’s what sin looks like when it hides behind stained glass. The same sin that infected you infected them—only they pretended they were healthy.

God isn’t asking you to perform. He’s not looking for your résumé. He wants to give you His. He wants to cleanse your infection. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NASB) You don’t need to clean yourself up to come to Him. You just have to admit you’re sick—and want to be well. “Whoever comes to Me, I will not cast out.” (John 6:37, NASB)

The Truth They Hid From You: God Is Not Mad at You

God doesn’t hate you. He’s not waiting to punish you. He’s been longing for you. “The Lord is not slow about His promise… but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, NASB) He’s been calling you through the stars, through the ache in your soul, through that unshakable feeling that there has to be more. That wasn’t coincidence. That was Him.

He never gave up on you. Even when religion pushed you out, even when people misrepresented Him, even when you stopped believing in Him—He never stopped believing in you.

Conclusion: You’re Invited—Not Accused

So here it is. Not a demand. Not a guilt trip. An invitation. You’re not too far gone. You’re not too broken. And no—you’re not to blame for the mess others made of the Gospel. But now that you’ve seen the truth—now that you’ve seen Jesus, not just the version they presented—you have a choice.

Come to Him. Not to religion. Not to ritual. Come to the God who reaches through fire, through forests, through crosses, and through time. The one who says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NASB)

And know this:

He’s not disappointed in you. He’s waiting for you.

He doesn’t blame you. He’s calling you.

He doesn’t reject you. He rejoices over you.