An Important Conversation

I think I had what quite possibly could have been the most important conversation with my boyfriend a few nights ago, at a place and time that I could never have anticipated.

When I casually asked my boyfriend if he wanted to come with me to Church this Sunday, he was hesitant to say yes. After asking him why, he simply said that he had his reasons and quickly tried to change the subject, but I just couldn't let that be. I wanted to know why he wasn't at least somewhat willing to at least humor me as to why he wouldn't want to go. So after prodding him on for a little while, he finally confessed why he wouldn't want to go with me: he didn't really believe in God, nor did he believe in the concept of religion.

Now, I'd always had this impression that my boyfriend never really took his faith seriously, but to me, it was completely baffling. How could a southern boy like him, who grew up in a highly religious family (and even a brother who talked of being a pastor) completely shut himself out of religion? It just couldn't add up. When I asked him why he didn't follow religion, my boyfriend simply said that while he agreed with the philosophy of religion (being a moral person, being kind to others, etc.) he didn't pledge his faith to Jesus Christ. But this only made me more confused because to me, it felt like he was completely missing one of the most important aspects of Christianity: the importance of family! While he was concerned with the personal aspect of religion and why he didn't need religion to teach him how to be a good person, I felt like I had to explain to him why I consider my faith to be one of the most important things in my life.

My family has always held close to the teachings of Christianity, through the most tragic of tragedies to the most joyous of joys, and we've always believed that, through tough times and good times, in both life and in death, that we'll always be together. I told my boyfriend that those family members who have passed on are looking down on me in Heaven, where I have nothing but my faith and belief that when my time comes that I'll be reunited with them in a better place. I asked him what he thought would happen if, God forbid, his mother were to die tomorrow. Wouldn't he want to at least hold out hope that he could see her again, to at least talk with her and laugh with her? This rhetorical question really resonated with him because all of a sudden, he got very quiet, looking like he was deep into thought.

Then he told me that he'd never thought of the importance of religion in that sense, admitting that he'd always dismissed religion on the selfish level but never before considering how it would apply to both him and those closest to him. And then, when I asked him again if he wanted to go to Church with me, he quickly said yes. I know that he probably won't completely change his faith overnight, but all I can do is keep faith that he can understand where I'm coming from.