Well hello and welcome back my beautiful family member! As always, it is an absolute pleasure to have you here with me today. As I've shared with you before, maintaining this blog and ministry has not been easy and it definitely sometimes feel a little overwhelming, but... there's nothing better than working for God and sharing him with the world. The world needs God, is just a fact. The opportunity of being alive and capable of maintaining a ministry that tries to share a little bit of Him in a world filled with senseless and dehumanizing posts, is just another blessing that I am thankful for. Don't you agree? Instead of messing around in my house or wasting time in the TV, I just spend some time writing about God and sharing him with the world. Good deal, right?
I've never been one for knocking door-to-door asking people to let me teach them the Bible, that's just not my talent... the thing is, I don't need to be in person to share him with others. I just need a computer and a few social media channels and I can get to people I never would've if I was walking knocking doors so... win-win. Anyhow, let's get back on track here. Let's talk about living a "christian life"and what does living one entails. It seems that nowadays a lot of people call themselves 'christians', yet their actions and thoughts are not quite resembling those from who the term 'christian' derives... some others even call themselves one just because they go to a church or just because they grew in a house with a christian upbringing... so, what is a christian? How does one looks like? Needless to say... let's open the Bible!
Christianity & Bible
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the noun 'christian' as: "one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ". What do yo think? Does professing belief in Jesus' teachings automatically make you a 'christian'?... Short answer: Sure. You weren't expecting that answer, were you? If one was to believe that being a "christian" is indeed as vague as simply professing belief in Jesus' teachings, then any one, at any given moment, can become a christian. So, sure... if we define christianity as that, anyone can be a christian. Now, the definition that we find in our humanly-made dictionary does not live up to or remotely resembles the standard that the Bible gives for christians. Believing that the fire will burn you won't prevent you from getting burned, knowing it AND acting on that knowledge will. Same analogy goes for the christian life.
Anyone can profess believing in Jesus' teachings, but not everyone actually aims to live up to the standard of Jesus' teachings. See the difference? In the Bible we find Jesus saying:
"If you love Me, keep My commandments..." - John 14:15
There's two components, two sides to this verse. First, there's the obvious one: keeping His commandments is one way to demonstrate we are truly committed to developing a loving relationship with Him. Then there' the second, implicitly hidden. We wouldn't be able to keep His commandments if we don't know what those are now, would we? Being a 'christian', term that derives from the name Christ (whom we all want to follow - or should want), involves knowing AND acting on that knowledge. Here's a good mathematical equation for those that are more visually drive:
Knowing and understanding God's word + Living up to the standard of God's word = being a ChristianThe Merriam Dictionary got it wrong. Professing to believe in Jesus' teachings is not even half of what makes a 'christian' a christian. On the other end, going to church, singing in the chorus, donating, being polite to your neighbors and not wishing evil unto anyone are all great things... still, none of these, even if practiced routinely, make one a 'christian' either. Matthew 23 has many interesting things to say about this but, check this verse out:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." - Matthew 23:27-28
The Pharisees, on the outside, did everything "by the book". Gave tithes, preached, went to church, were zealous of God's word... still, they applied none of Jesus' teachings into their own lives. They seemed to be living up to the standard, but they never truly understood nor knew Jesus', God's, teachings and word.
The real "christian" damage...
Redemption and salvation is ultimately an individual achievement. We are all accountable for our own actions, thoughts and feelings. Everything we do is being carefully recorded in the heavenly files and one day, we will all be accountable to our own records. Whether someone chooses to be a "christian" or a christian, that is ultimately up to them. As friends, family, colleagues or even acquaintances all we (others) can do is share the gospel with others, spread the seed, and let God's spirit work that seed to fruition. The problem is not the individual choices each person makes but how those individual choices affect others looking from the outside in.
I think we all have heard the story of how certain someone left the church or doesn't want to know anything about Jesus because of the way certain "christian" treated him or her. We have all seen the repercussions that half-way christians can cause not only for themselves, but for others who want to try and understand more about the Jesus that makes us different. A person that claims to know and follow Jesus, yet, continues to live life business as usual... doesn't know Jesus.
As christians it is our duty to 'be the reason someone loves Jesus', never the reason why someone doesn't want to know anything about Him. If the latter is the case, then we as individuals (me included) need to do some serious self reflection and ask God for some guidance. God is love, therefore be a reflection of that love here on earth. The real problem with half-way christians is that they don't truly understand what it means to be a christian and they wear Christ's name on their title without understanding of the responsibilities that are inherited from being called as such. This translates into individuals misrepresenting God's character which in turn translates into others walking away from Jesus because of the mistakes of certain individuals.
Do you consider yourself a christian? That's a big title to bear... Start by connecting with Jesus. Is not about actions nor about knowledge, but about a combination of both.
Until next one my friend,
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