What it means to be a Christian

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3 NIV)

Being a Christian (or a follower of Christ) is love-controlled conduct that is grounded in and flows from our personal relationship with Christ. As we grow in our understanding of how much He loves us, we will grow in our ability to love God above all else and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Nothing is as important as Christ-like love -- not knowledge, not religious observance, not ability, not rule-keeping, not appearance, not personal sacrifice. Those who know what it means to love Christ and to be loved by Him will be marked by deep gratitude to God, regular conversation with Him, patient trust in Him, humble submission to Him, and careful attention to love others as He has loved us.

All of this is beyond our ability to do in our own strength. But it is the normal result of letting Christ, by His Spirit, live His life through us. We can communicate with God by regularly and prayerfully expressing our own hearts to God and by carefully listening to Him speak to us through His written Word.

God answers our prayers when we pray in faith, according to His will, with a pure heart, with a forgiving spirit, in the Spirit, and with pure sincerity. God is honored and will honor us when we patiently trust His wisdom, power, and goodness no matter how fiery our trials, how deep our griefs, how excruciating our pain, or how unexplainable His ways are to us.

The commands of the Bible are God's guidelines to show us how we can live out, in daily practice, the love we have for Him and our neighbors. Those who do not meditate on the Word of God will soon become distracted and preoccupied with lesser thoughts, routines, and details. They will become more concerned with their own desires than with the physical, spiritual, and eternal needs of others.

Being made in God's image and after His likeness gives us the starting point to become what He originally intended us to be. As the fisherman must catch his fish before cleaning it, so the Lord Jesus draws us to Himself first and then begins the process of preparing us to become vessels of honor and a witness to the world of His great sacrifice and love. This is a process that is accomplished over time and not over night.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (1 Th 5:23,24 NIV)

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