What do you mean you are a 'Christian?'

 
You have followed a link to this page and so you are curious. I call myself a Christian and to many that word comes with so many preconceived notions. To some the term Christian connotes intolerance, condemnation, and a superiority complex. I can see where that perception comes from. Many have abused the label to pursue their own human end. Maybe it is better to call myself a follower of Jesus. Either way, to me both labels mandate love, forgiveness, and an inferiority complex.

Jesus teaches us that we are all broken, we all have fallen short. No one is "good" except God alone. We are all in need of grace if we wish to be restored into a communion with God which we chose to break a long time ago. All Jesus asks is that you accept his sacrifice and follow him. In return, he will take away all our sin and restore our relationship with God. To follow him means simply to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

What has been percieved as an exclusive club is really the most inclusive and radical religion of all time. To "get in," you don't have to be good. You don't have to be a certain race, live a certain place, or speak a certain language. You don't have to be a churchgoer or be "religious." You don't have to dress or speak a certain way. In fact, Jesus says that nothing we can do on our own will earn salvation from God. All we have to do is believe and follow.

I am still learning what it means to follow Jesus, but one thing is clear, the popular notion of what Jesus is about is largely mistaken. For a large chunk of my life, I rejected being a Christian. But as I looked, I realized that what I rejected were the hypocritical human constructs and human prejudices put forward in the name of Christianity. It turns out that Jesus himself rebeled against the church leaders of his time, condemning them for their pious nature. Jesus spent his time with people the "church" actively condemned and avoided. His radical message of love transends all boundries. Once I saw what He was really about, I recognized it as the truth.

Jesus is the one and only Son of God. He came to Earth to teach us how to live and to bring forth the Kingdom of God where all we race to the bottom in service of one another. He died and rose again as eternal payment for our sins. He is waiting to accept you back into his arms and to restore your relationship with God. Salvation is so easy, it's hard. All you have to do is ask for it. Then you can start living "covered in the dust of the Rabbi."

That reality shapes the way I deal with people and the world. Jesus instructs that my job is to love people and to share what I know to be true. Beyond that, it is up to you to decide what to do. It is not between me and you, it is between you and God.

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