What is a Christian?

When I was thinking about this post I initially thought I could list what being a Christian isn't, but that seemed very negative, and God isn't into negatives. So instead, I'm saying what, for me, being a christian is.


Very little is black and white in my faith. Three things, I think, are:
Jesus died for me;
Jesus is the son of God;
God is.

I suppose I could add that I believe God is the creator of all things, that Jesus rose from the dead, and that he was born of a virgin. And I guess, if I thought about it, I could go on and list lots of other things that I believe, but the important words, the ones that sum up my faith, are in those first three phrases. God. Jesus. Me.


Because Jesus died for me, I am able to have a relationship with God. A personal, living relationship. And it's nothing to do with me and what I've done or haven't done in my life. And it's nothing to do with anyone else either. It was instigated by God. All I have to do is choose to accept and believe.


And that conscious decision-making, to turn away from self and to God, is an act of faith.


And a lot of faith is just about holding on. Oftentimes in spite of, not because of. Holding on in spite of the arguments, the logic, the unbelief; holding on in spite of the pain, the doubt, the seeming absence of God.

Is it worth it? Yes. Not for the promise of what is to come but for what is now. Unconditional love. Grace. Forgiveness.

Sometimes the hardest thing is to accept a gift. It's much easier to accept a reward if you've done something to deserve it. But there's nothing I have to do: Jesus has done it all.