For me, that’s hard to narrow down. I am a daughter, a wife, a mother, a friend. Today, I am a pastor, but in past careers, I was an office administrator, a daycare provider, a photo corrector at a yearbook company, a sales and marketing coordinator at a farming manufacture, a milker at a dairy farm, a custodian, a Mary Kay consultant, and a Pamper Chef consultant. I looked back one day and realized God taught me everything from cleaning a toilet to preaching in the pulpit. Those wide range of opportunities certainly assisted in preparing me for ministry.
But I’m also a daughter of the King, a child of God, a forgiven soul, a committed disciple of Jesus Christ, a Christian. But what exactly does being a Christian mean? For certain, it means that I have confessed that I am a sinner, repented of my sins, and placed my faith in Jesus Christ. I belief that He took my punishment and died my death on that cross. He gave His life up on my behalf. He is my sacrifice, my Savior, my God, my King, my Lord.
To say that I am a Christian means that I have chosen to accept Jesus’ love and grace. It means that I have turned from my old life and began a new one with Him. It means I turn my eyes upon Jesus daily and choose to walk to Him. Calling myself a Christian does not mean that I have it all together. It does not mean that I don’t still mess things up good, but it does mean that I have a relationship with my Creator and Savior and that the door is always open for me to again walk through. And though I am far from perfect in how I live my life and share my faith, my desire is always to openly proclaim who Jesus is and identity myself with Him.
In a world where everything from sports to politics, social media to podcasts, and movies to television competes for our attention, we need to get back to what is essential, what is most important. We need to know who we truly are and who we serve.
When we finally grasp who we are in Jesus and what our participation means to God’s mission, everything changes. Life begins to make sense. Our purpose becomes clear and our mission through the local church is confirmed. Our hearts start longing to cooperate with God in the company of other believers. When Christians become committed church members, the church becomes healthy. And when the church becomes healthy, communities become healthy. And when communities become healthy, so does our world.
At this pivotal moment, when our culture seems to teeter between one direction or another, we need to claim our most important identity – follower of Christ – and act on it. Would you prayerfully consider joining me for a study on what it truly means to be a Christian? We’ll talk about what it means to be a believer, a church member, a disciple, a servant, a witness, a prayer warrior, and over all a Christian.
The study will run for seven weeks and meet every Wednesday starting on April 12th at 10am and 7pm. Please sign up in the hallway to receive a study book, so you can read the introduction and first chapter before our first meeting.
When we understand our identity in Christ, everything changes.