"Why am I a Christian?" is a question that anyone who goes to church on Sundays or identifies as a Christian should ask themselves. It is the most basic and most complex question all at the same time. I may ruffle a few feathers by saying this (or may downright piss some people off), but if your answer is "so that I can go to heaven", then I would argue that you are actually missing out on what it really means to be a Christian and are likely missing out on experiencing the blessing that the abundant life that God offers brings. The main problem about that answer is that it makes it all about yourself; it is a self serving gospel - you are a Christian because of what you get, not because of who God is or what He's done. It actually misunderstands what salvation really is all about and what Jesus was actually teaching us and what God was doing from the very beginning of the biblical story, culminating in Jesus' death and resurrection, and continuing today. Fleshing out this idea fully would take a series of blog posts and more work than I am able to put in right now, so I will leave that there since that is not what inspired me to write this post today (after not writing for a long time).
So why am I a Christian? Originally it was probably because my parents were; I grew up in the church, so it was quite natural for me to become a Christian, however, if I stayed there I would have probably had an answer like I wrote above as to why I am a Christian, which, ultimately, breaks down quite easily when challenged once you step out of your Christian circles. My Christian walk was quite interesting in some ways because from a young age I always knew that God was real and that He was the one true god - I experienced Him in some incredible ways when I was in my preteen years that never left any doubt in my mind - however I did not live as a Christian for many years of my teen and young adult life. At that point in my life, I was a Christian in name and basic belief only; it wasn't really apparent in my life and I did not cultivate a relationship with God in any real way. That all changed, however, when I finally realized that the way I was living was not sustainable, and not really even that enjoyable when I actually stopped (and was clear-minded enough) to think about it. That was when I started to realize that being a Christian was about more than going to church and not doing anything too bad so that you don't mess up your ticket into heaven. That's when God slowly began to draw me to Himself in a way I had never experienced before.
In my mind, and my heart, I didn't really become a Christian until I laid down my will and finally submitted myself to His will and allowed Him to be the Lord of my life. That doesn't necessarily mean I wasn't "saved" in an eternal sense before then; how do we know what exactly it takes to receive His salvation - is it simply "inviting Him into our heart" or is it more? I had prayed a prayer multiple times and I fully believed He was God, so you could say that yes I was saved, but as I look back I now realize that it was basically the minimum level of salvation and that I was missing out on what salvation really is about. It was only once I realized that God doesn't want to be invited into our hearts or into our lives, but that He wants to be the Lord of our lives and wants to live in covenant relationship with us, that my life was truly transformed and I finally began to live the abundant life that Jesus promised for the very first time. I can't remember when I first "invited Jesus into my heart", but I will always remember when I surrendered and made Him Lord of my life (which continues to deepen to this day and will until the day I die), because that is when my life changed forever and I can easily say that my life has gotten better consistently since then as I have allowed Him to lead me into His blessing instead of trying to bring Him along or into what I was doing.
So why am I a Christian? First, because God has absolutely transformed my life. He never gave up on me, even though others may have, and He kept pursuing me until I finally gave in and put Him first, and I have been living in His blessing ever since. To look at where I am today and consider where I was 15 years ago is astonishing, so much so that I doubt the people I knew back then that I haven't seen for years would recognize me today. Secondly, I am a Christian because as I've studied and learned about the different religions and belief systems that the world has to offer, Christianity and the Christian story makes the most sense of the world and brings the most value to this life and to all of creation than any other. Even when you only look at Abrahamic religions, which have similar basic foundations of who God is (based on the Hebrew Scriptures), Christianity stands apart because in the others (Judaism and Islam), it is mostly based on what we do, whereas in Christianity, God came down to earth as a man to do what we could never do ourselves. He has saved us not because of who we are, but because of who He is! Finally, I am a Christian because of who God is and the relationship that I have with Him. He is a good father who leads me and my family through life in a crazy world and blesses us in ways I never thought He would. He is the creator, the Redeemer, the great I Am, the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The more I get to know Him, the more in awe I am of who He is, what He has done and what He is doing.
There is no other way that I would ever even consider living my life other than submitting myself to Him as Lord, following Him wherever He leads, and obeying His words and decrees. It is the best way to live life that there is, and I know that from experience because I tried many other ways of living, His is by far the greatest!
I don't really know why I felt compelled to write this post after not writing anything for so long, and I have no idea who will read this, but it just came to mind and I felt I needed to write it and share it. I will say that it is not the most nuanced or thought out thing I have written; it really was written in one draft from my heart with very little editing, so it may not be perfect and I am willing to take some push-back on what I've written - I am always willing to discuss matters of faith with whoever is willing to have a thought out and respectful dialogue. I hope that it helps or blesses even just one person; I know that thinking through it a little and writing it already was a blessing to me.
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