About

1trueway

Introduction

Author

Hello,

My name is Alessandro Ruano.

I am not a pastor, theologian, teacher, or preacher. I attended Bible college, worked as a Youth Pastor, and spent years preaching and teaching, but I no longer do those things. I have always been a jack of many trades but a master of none. I say I am not those things because a pastor has followers, a teacher has students, and a preacher has a congregation. I have none of these.

I am not religious, nor am I your typical Bible-reading, church-attending Christian. I am a Christian, but I say that term with some apprehension.

The word Christianity has taken on its own definition because of the way many Christians live today. When you hear the word Christian, you can sometimes think of hypocrites who don't actually follow what they claim to believe, or judgmental Christians who show little grace or love. Christians who, in many ways, look more like the world than they do Christ.

I know what many Christians might think when they read this: We're not perfect, and that's why we need Jesus. And that is true. But those words have also become a cliché used to justify continuing in sinful behavior.

I am not perfect in any way. I have struggled to walk with Jesus, to not look like a hypocrite, to turn away from sin, and to let go of the things of this world. But I don't want to make excuses for myself. I want to be transparent and tell you that I don't want to be those things.

I don't want to live in sin as though I have some sort of pass simply because I am a Christian. I hate my sin because I am sinning against my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For me, I see the world much the same way I see my daughters. I want to shine the light of Jesus into their lives so they can see that there is a God, a future kingdom, and something far better than this world.

I want them to know that true life is found only in God, that this world will eventually pass away, and that the best way I can show them these things is by allowing Christ to live through me.

And that is how I want to live before the world as well. I want people to see Christ through my life—not simply hear me talk about Him.

I am fighting to grow in Christ because I desperately want to live for Him without compromise. That does not mean I will never stumble into sin, because I know I will. But I do not want to willingly sit in sin, look the other way, and convince myself that it is somehow alright. I do not want to make excuses for what I know is wrong. Excuses will never help me grow in Christ; they only keep me from confronting what needs to change.

If I continue compromising my faith, then not only will the world fail to see Christ through me, but I will also hinder Christ from living through me in the fullness and power of the Spirit.

I lose. My daughters lose. And the world loses.

Reality

There is a reality that many people can’t understand, especially if they are not Christians: when a person gets saved, it begins a process called sanctification—in simple terms, growing up as a Christian.

Getting saved is not the finish line. It is the beginning.

As in any relationship, including marriage, there is work that has to be done. When it comes to faith, that work is learning to trust God instead of trusting ourselves. It means learning to let go of the person we were and allowing God to change us into who He wants us to be.

Getting saved is like diving into a pool for the first time and trying to swim. It might not look pretty. In fact, it may look like you’re drowning. You may struggle, go under, and have to fight your way back up. But the goal is to keep swimming toward Jesus.

So when you look at a Christian who looks nothing like Jesus, what are you looking at? You may be looking at a baby Christian who is still learning to walk, or you may be looking at someone who is not a Christian at all. And that is the difficult part: baby Christians and fake Christians can look very much alike.

The difference is not whether they struggle. We all struggle. The difference is whether there is a desire to grow and a heart of wanting change that results in some growth. Is the person becoming more like Christ, even if that growth is slow, difficult, and imperfect?

It is sad for me to admit that I am struggling to grow up. But that is my truth. I don’t want to pretend that I have arrived when I know I haven’t. I want to grow. I want to become more like Jesus. And sometimes, the hardest thing a Christian can do is be honest enough to admit that they still have a long way to go.

My dilemma

My dilemma is that I don't know how much time any of us have. I feel guilty sitting around doing nothing while continuing to struggle with my faith, because I don't know when things may come to an end—for me, for you, or for anyone else.

What I can do is share my truth with you: what I have learned through faith and even what I have learned outside of it. I can share my struggles, my failures, and what I have come to believe.

My desire is that, in some way, you will see Jesus speaking and working through me—not because I have everything figured out or because I am somehow better than anyone else, but because Jesus is better than anything in this world.

I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness of this world, wanting you to know that there is a God. Not merely as an idea, a belief, or a possibility, but as the living Creator who made you, knows you, and desires that you would seek Him.