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Yes, I am a Christian. I accepted Christ as my Savior and was baptized when I was 7 years old. Since then, my life has been a journey of knowing God more intimately. To me, being a Christian does not make me a religious fanatic or a member of some religious group. No, being a Christian means being a follower of Christ. This is why I describe my faith in terms of a relationship - because that's what it is! Many people think that being a Christian means obeying a set of rules or reading the Bible a lot or attending church or being a good person, etc. But what being a Christian is truly about is about loving Jesus Christ and accepting His indescribable love for you. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). Once we realize the depth of Jesus' love for us - so much that He would die an excrutiating death for our sins (not His!) - we then want to spend time with Him, talk to Him, and serve Him. This is where the obedience part comes in. "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). Christianity, for me, is not only about love, but about freedom. Because Jesus, the only Son of God (the one true God, "I AM") loves me so much, I am free! I do not have to earn God's love, for God accepts me not on my own merit, but because of the blood of Christ. "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God" (2 Corinthians 3:4). I do not have to prove myself to anyone - I am free to be myself! "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). Because of this overwhelming love and the freedom I have found in it, I experience joy that overcomes all the hard times in life. It is this joy that allows me to smile when the world says I have nothing to smile about. "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not ini despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Joy is not the same as happiness - joy comes from our assurance of eternal life in Christ. We can be joyful no matter what our circumstance because we know that this world is not our home! "You do not belong to the world" (John 15:19). |
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