What does it mean to be a Christian?

Many people believe that Christianity is like following a set of rules. In fact, many people view the Bible as a rulebook - of things you can and cannot do. But what is Christianity, really and what is the purpose of the Bible? Is it merely a religion or is it something more?

   When Jesus was on earth, He taught many specific things but the universal theme of all He taught and all He did was love. Love for God, love for others and love for yourself. According to St. Mark, Jesus said that we should love "the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength..." and he also said to "love thy neighbour as thyself..." In the Bible, you can see that everything that God has done has been out of love for His people - even things that seemed to be bad. When Israel was fighting against the Amalekites, God told Gideon to decrease the number of soldiers drastically, and Israel won the war. He may not do things the way you would like them to be done and it may not make much sense to you, but He has a good reason for it.

   Christianity is centered around love: God's love for us and our love for Him. In a nutshell, that's what Christianity is about. It's not about rituals or rules - it's about love. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life." God loves His people and that's why He sent His only Son to die for us.

   To be a Christian means to have a relationship with Jesus. In Phillipians 3:10, Paul says "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship if his sufferings, being made conformable to his death;" That's what Christianity is about - it's about knowing Jesus. Not just knowing who He is or what He's done, but knowing Him. Many people go all their lives knowing almost everything about Jesus and not knowing Him. It's like how many people know everything about their favorite celebrity but if that celebrity was to actually come in contact with them, that celebrity would say "Who are you?" if you start a conversation with them.


    It's not good enough to know about Him, but you have to go a step further and actually know Him. It's the best feeling to begin to know Jesus personally rather than just from secondary sources. David asked God not to cast him away from His presence or take His Holy Spirit from him. David loved God and loved to be in His presence, so he wanted to be in God's presence as much as possible. The disciples followed Jesus everywhere but they didn't have to. They wanted to be in His presence, they wanted to know Him. That's what we need to aspire for - to know God.  A Christian is someone who aspires to know God.


    A Christian loves one another. John steinback said that you should try to understand someone else, because if you understand them you can't hate them. If you don't understand someone you shouldn't judge them because you don't know what they're feeling or what they're going through. When you understand them you'll realize that there was no reason to judge, just a need for prayer and support. We're hear to build each other up not put each other down. To be a Christian means to love. Offer a hand to a stranger in need, or a friend, love God, and seek His presence.

    I want to know God more each day. I want to be a light, not through my words but through my actions. I want to be there to help others but sometimes I don't and I'm asking God to help me to and I hope you'll join me.