"Christian"

I wonder what people think when they say that they are a Christian. Perhaps this is on my mind because Easter is a week away. Perhaps it is because i read my journal entry from the night I watched the Passion the first time. Perhaps it is because I am working on a lesson on Salvation for Sunday's FLO Bible Study. Perhaps I am just feeling...something.

It seems at times that being a Christian in the South is a given. Like everyone expects a person to believe in Jesus. For many, it doesn't matter how you live or what you believe or who you hang out with or how you talk or how you dress or what you put in your body. People will curse (GD, MF, and SOB), talk about relationships outside marriage, getting drunk, or being homosexual and in the same breath talk about going to church and Sunday school..  It seems at times like some people say they are a Christian as if being a Christian is the "other" choice on a multiple choice test. As if to say, "Well, I'm not Muslim, I'm not Jewish, I'm not Buddist, I'm not Morman, I'm not Jehovah Witness...I must be a Christian." This hurts my heart. There is SO much more to aligning myself with Christ than just not beliving the things other religions believe. I believe the things Christ taught and I WANT to live my life in a way that shows others what Christ was and is all about.

Jesus Christ died for me. For me! Ages before I was born, ages before i could choose to follow Him, He DIED for me. He suffered. He bled. He was beaten. He was spat on. He was cursed, laughed at, and mocked. My Lord, My God, My Savior died for me...to save me, to restore me, to redeem me.

Knowing that there was no way for me to ever live a sin-free life. Knowing that I would have "bad" thoughts, do "bad" things, and  that I would fail daily in my attempts to serve Him whole heartedly and have no other gods before Him. Knowing that I would be a rebellous child, and a heard headed adult, He chose to die for me.

Being a Christian is to align myself with Christ. Being a Christian is to desire to lead others to know Him. Being a Christian is to desire my life to be a reflection of Christ so that those who know me will want to know Him. Being a Christian is to believe that the Bible is true and that the truths found there are relevant and unchanging. Being a Christian is to be in love with my Savior. Being a Christian is to yearn to meet Jesus in worship. Being a Christian is to live my life for His glory.

I love Him. He saved me once for all from eternal death and He saves me daily from myself. I love Him. I believe Him. I trust Him. I follow Him. I want my life to be a reflection of Him. I am thankful for the opportunity to be In The Battle. I am thrilled that He would trust me to care for one of His Pastors. I am humbled that He would use me daily to share his love with the people in  my life.

That is only a little explanation of what it means to me to be a Christian, and even that is SO much more than a casual assumption based on what i am not. More than NOT being any of the religions I mentioned earlier....i AM a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus.

Thankfuly, He takes everyone, even me. No matter what I did before I met Him, and no matter how many times I do NOT live my life in a way that reflects His life and His love now that I have met him, He calls me His own.

If you have given your life to Him, HE calls YOU His own too.

Hugs,

K