Last week, vice president JD Vance was answering questions from students which included a question about religion. In answering the question, Vance shared that he hopes his wife will someday be moved by the Church like he was and come to be a Christian. People in the media lost their minds and Vance has faced intense backlash from his comments. However, Vance was not out of line in his comments. As Christians and Catholics, we have the faith we do because we believe it to be true. And if we believe something to be true, we should want everyone, especially the people we know and love, to have what we have. The Gospel gives us The Great Commission, where Jesus tells us to “go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19).
We can respect other people’s religious beliefs or lack of while also hoping that they may come to embrace the faith that we have. The media seems to not be aware of this concept. Our faith is meant to be shared. Jesus has tasked us with sharing the Gospel by the way we live, through our words and actions. When we let our faith be reflected in our lives, it is not to force anyone to convert, but rather to hope that they might one day be drawn to Christ and come to believe. We hope and pray that people’s hearts are touched and transformed, coming to make a decision for themselves.
As Catholics, we believe that Jesus Christ and His Church have the truth and have the power to transform lives. After all, we’ve experienced it ourselves. The beliefs we have do not mean that we hate other people who don’t have the same beliefs. We can disagree with others and still love them. Each and every single person is included in Jesus’ command to us to make disciples. We should not be ashamed of our faith and should always be open to the ways God might use it to touch others.
A lot of people out there disagree with Catholics. And they have the free will to do so. But that should never stop us from living and sharing our faith and what we believe. If we love Jesus, we likely have a deep desire for others to love Him too. That’s what our faith is all about. May we all continue to live and share our faith, praying that Jesus may draw others to Him through it!
Faith and The Good Stuff 