June
02
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Being Christian 2
Part two of three
Further exploration on the term, “Christian.”
I won’t claim to be the first to say this (I see a lot of people have taken credit for it) but perhaps one reason people are confused about the term “Christian” is because we have made it an adjective. If you remember, the purpose of an adjective is to modify nouns. My grammar book says that adjectives answer one of three questions about a noun: what kind; how many; and which one. Adjectives qualify, describe and distinguish nouns, but the noun is the big cheese of the sentence.
Is “Christian” the adjective of my life? Am I a Christian writer? A Christian mother? A Christian artist?
Or am I a Christian. Period.
Even if Christian is the noun of my life, that doesn’t help define what a Christian is. How about we begin with what it is not:
I am not a Christian because I had Christian parents.
I am not a Christian because I try to live a good life.
I am not a Christian because I go to church.
I am not a Christian because I give to charity.
I am not a Christian because I believe God exists.
Remember, Satan believes God exists too.
When Christ calls Peter, Andrew, James and John in Matthew 4, he simply says “Follow me.” He doesn’t ask if they could check their availability to be away for an extended period of time. He doesn’t ask them to go home and shower first, or to clean up their act. He’s not concerned with their political leanings or social status. All he asks of them is to follow him. To abandon all they know and make him their noun.
Jesus calls them—and us—to love him with all our might, with all our soul, with mind and with all our strength, so much so that everything else pales in comparison. He wants to be our noun, not our adjective.
Don’t come to Christianity because you want to be a good person.
Don’t come to Christianity because it will make you happy.
Don’t come to Christianity because your parents or friends are Christians.
Come to Christianity because it’s true.
I suppose that comes across sounding arrogant and maybe a little too confident? Let’s talk about that in my next post…
Being Human connection: It may take a lifetime to figure out what Christ means when he says, “Follow me.” What does it mean to you?
Featured artwork: My “Fisher of Men” zen doodle.
I love the zendoodle! But it’s so tiny…how do I see a larger version?
Hey Tammy. Thanks. I’ll email it go you. It actually looks better smaller. Ha.
This post was what I was going to reply to your first post. I grew up with a ‘Christian’ dad who had no concept of who Jesus was. Condemnation was the name of the game. I still struggle with guilt being a ‘first responder’ . The old hymn ‘Living for Jesus’ is a great example of being a Christian. Keep those posts coming !
Thanks Carol. Sorry your first experiences with “Christianity” were so negative. I looked up the hymn, “Living for Jesus.” The lyrics don’t look familiar. Maybe if you sing it for me sometime, I’ll recognize it. 🙂