Posted on March 5, 2010 at 9:00 am
Christianity | This post currently has no responses.
Part one was about understanding what it means to become a Christian. But that was only part one because there is more to living as a Christian than just making the decision. As I said before Christian is Christ-like; therefore, belief is important as a first step, but belief was not meant to be the end. Christianity is less about what you believe than how – you – live! It’s how you walk, why you walk, where you’re walking to, and who you’re walking with – that’s what Christianity is about.
Why
The reason we walk is our belief. We believe in Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. We believe in Jesus Christ, who was given to die as a ransom for us, to cover our wretchedness with his blood and make a way for us to approach God. We believe in God’s Holy Spirit, who lives in us and reminds us of His words. We believe that our sins are forgiven us, and that we will live eternally with our God even after this life ends. We believe that the world needs Jesus in order to both experience this life and the next life fully because the majority of the world currently exists dead in their trespasses (Colossians 2:13), because of the original sin (Genesis 3), and because the devil seeks to destroy us constantly (1 Peter 5:8).
Where
Where we’re walking is on the narrow path, through the small gate (Matthew 7), towards eternal life in God’s presence. We go towards that place where there will be no more pain or weeping, where perfection is restored to God’s creation. (Revelation 21)
How
The way we walk is in love. Love for our family, our friends, our enemies, our authority, our subordinates. Sound odd? Love them? The greatest two commandments God gave us, according to Jesus, are to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor. (Matthew 22) If we don’t walk in love, all our good deeds are in vain. (1 Corinthians 13) And if we don’t walk in love, we are not Christians because 1) we’re not living like Christ, who IS love (also see John 3:16) , and 2) Christ says that we are known by our fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit. (Luke 6) But the trick is that only through Him is such love possible. Really, it’s God loving through us, and we are willing to let Him.
Who
Our companion is also our savior. We walk with a God who is bigger than all problems we face, Jesus who faced worse than we ever will, and the Holy Spirit who comforts us and counsels us as we walk. This relationship between me and the God-head is my reason for keeping on going, it’s how I get through, it’s what I’m aiming for, and it’s the whole point. It’s everything wrapped up in one, this relationship, this love.
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I’m not saying there is nothing else worth mentioning about life as a Christian, but I wanted to point out these things, at the very least. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts and questions!
