“Being a Christian is not about learning a system of correct performance or going through one programmatic course after another. It is about a personal spiritual revolution in which you experience Christ so intimately for who he really is and respond to him so completely in a love relationship that it continually transforms every aspect of your life”
How does this definition fit your view of Christianity? Read it again.
It strikes me that Josh is right, yet often we live our faith as if it was all about what we do rather than because we are unconditionally loved by God. The Church in the New Testament was not founded on rules and courses – They were a group of people that were totally devoted to Jesus - they loved him, and because they loved him they wanted to do the things he said. Their faith was about relating to Jesus. They lived to please him. They lived to love him. They lived to love each other because they loved him.
Josh is totally right - being a Christian is not about 'being good' or about 'being involved'. Being a Christian is all about experiencing Christ intimately. As we meet Christ and he begins to change our hearts our whole outlook on faith and life begins to change - it's like God births a spiritual revolution within us. As the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17,
"If anyone is in Christ Jesus he is a new creation,
the old has gone, the new has come"
When our faith is based on relating to God through Christ Jesus something new happens within us. His Spirit begins to work at transforming from the inside out. Life takes on a whole new meaning.
I could not be a Church youth worker if I did not personally know God. To be honest it would drive me crazy!! It is only through God we have the character to do what we do and the strength in which to do it. In your work what do you depend on - leaders, are you depending on the youth programme, or the written materials you use? Young people, are you in a relationship with God that makes you want to live different? When we depend on programmes and systems we may find ourselves getting tired and weary, even to the point of rejecting faith. When we depend on God, looking to him to guide us and strengthen us, we can stay fresh and enjoy the work we do for him. Let’s remind ourselves of the definition we read earlier:
"Being a Christian is about a personal spiritual revolution in which you experience Christ so intimately for who he really is and respond to him so completely in a love relationship that it continually transforms every aspect of your life"
May we all experience Christ intimately for who he really is, and may we all respond to him in that love relationship that transforms every aspect of our lives.
all the best on the journey
Stu-Mack
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