What Does It Mean To Be Christian?

According to Wikipedia, a part of definition of the word Christian is: "that it is used to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a proverbial sense all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." This portion of their definition seems most applicable to our usage and anyone who's studied the "proverbial" book of Proverbs likely recognizes that it's a book dedicated to Gods' wisdom. So I can accept the reference because the definition seems to fit well with Gods' wisdom! But it also means that we have accepted Christ's sacrifice made on our behalf for our sins. By the majority of definition, you could substitute Christ-like or follower of Christs example for the word Christian. In my quest to fulfill the definition of Christian in my own life, I recognize that it's truth in application to myself depends on my truly becoming like Christ. In order to begin to comprehend the true meaning of the term and my ability successfully use it in regards to myself requires that I understand who Christ is and how successful I may have become in being conformed to His image. If we're seeking to be Christ-like, then I think we'll be constantly moving ahead, making progress in our quest because it's always Christs desire to renew us and to restore us to what He intended for us to be before sin entered the world.

I think most of us who aspire to use the term Christian in reference to ourselves take a certain amount of pride in claiming it because of our admiration for who He is. But I know that in comparing my own life to that of my Lord, I find myself having fallen far short of His example in my life. That's no surprise to Him nor should it be a surprise to any of us. He knew that we weren't likely to make it on our own because of our sinful nature. That's why He came to pay the price for our failure ahead of time (for those of us who live after). This way we could have the opportunity to work to become Christ-like without the condemnation of eternal death hanging over our heads. But the commutation of our sentence to eternal life is not an excuse for us to continue in ways that don't honor His example while we continue to use His name. The Apostle Paul wrote volumes exhorting Christians against continuing in the worldly paths as we are tempted. But (in my own words) to instead work to place our feet in the footprints of our Savior. It was a work and an effort of loving compassion that he sought to accomplish on behalf of all men and Christ, born out of Christ's love. I believe that it was in part because he shared Christs' heart, and because he recognized the immeasurable value and necessity of close relationship with Christ to hold our hands to help steady and balance us as we try to place our feet in His footprints. We have to spend time face to face with Him allowing Him to hold our hands, following His lead as we try to place our feet in the very footprints He made before us.

I sometimes picture this world as a mine field, so carefully laid with with such an overwhelming number of mines that no one could possibly traverse it alone without eventually falling victim to their intended devastation. But among the mines laid for our destruction, there are the footprints of the only one who made it to the other side. In the interest of satan's selfish and evil intended goal he's done his best to disguise those footprints. There are false prints made with obvious intention and in some cases the right ones have had sand kicked into them in an attempt to hide them from us. But the Savior, who is just that to us if we let Him, knows where He walked. He knows the path to "Life". There's no other way to get there except by Him. Standing in one place out of fear or any other motivation doesn't get us there either. It deprives us of the life giving relationship we experience with Christ and will eventually bring about the enemies' same ultimate intention. If we stand in one place and deprive ourselves of relationship with the moving, life-giving Holy Spirit of our God that we were created to need, we will eventually die spiritually anyway. Without fail, we will become weak and falter, trembling in our steps and die in the end either by missing the footprint and landing on a mine, or by spiritual starvation and deprivation.

If we've had the revelation that we needed a savior and have accepted the only one worthy to lead us through the mine field of life, then the next step is to engage with Him to have true relationship and begin navigating life in His footsteps. As we begin this process, we begin the path of conforming to His image. We begin to look like Him - we learn to move as He moves and to pay attention to what He pays attention to - to value what He values. He's no longer walking among us in human form, which is in large part the reason we have the Bible (so that we can know Him). But He is with us in the person of His Holy Spirit. So our journey begins here and moves forward with our efforts to continually learn more, applying what we know of who He is and by following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

It was out of compassion and love that Christ came to us. It definitely wasn't because we deserve it. What we earn by our nature is something entirely different. It's out of His love and compassion for us that He comes to each of us now to give surety to our steps and life giving wisdom - to help us avoid the mines. Pauls' exhortations were also out of love and compassionate concern that none should step on a mine or die of starvation. His motivations were Christ-like in their purpose to the salvation of all those Christ loves. He came to reflect Christ's heart right down to the point of loving and caring for what and whom Christ Himself loved. He was Christian in his purpose and also in his example to follow Christ. If we understand the purpose and intentions of Christ and our forefathers who endeavored to follow His example, then our surrender to Christs' leading and our own motivations should be the same and should carry the same urgency when we call ourselves by His name. In the end there's only one righteous judge of our right to call ourselves by His name and that is the namesake Himself.

But even in his own life Paul as sincere as he was, seemed to lament his own struggles with the nature we are all born with. This can be seen in his words in Romans 7:15 "I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate." How true for us all - myself definitely included. We're all in need of our Lords' continuing mercy, compassion and grace. How lost and hopeless we would all be if it ever ceased to be available to us. Recognizing the continuing battle we all face in spite of our own best efforts and our need for constant and compassionate grace, one might think that it should be a natural reaction that we would have this attitude toward others. But it's not our tendency without Christ's heart.

Will we fall down in our navigation of life's mine field? Maybe. Will we get hurt along the way? Maybe. But we'll most likely die if we stand still and the success of our journey is only dependent on our ability to submit to follow Christ's leading. If we fall down - He will pick us up. If we get hurt - He will heal us. He will do and be all things to us according to our need, IF we continue to submit and continue follow Him. In my own journey I once stopped moving because I got hurt and I carried that hurt for years only because I failed to continue moving forward. Only when I began again to have the faith to submit and surrender to Him, did I permit Jesus to heal the source of my pain. I suffered because I stopped, not because He wasn't willing and able to heal me. Our success in our journey is only limited by the depth of our commitment to continue, and to submit and surrender to our Lord because He has no limits and will not fail us! But if we stand still or never even begin the journey, we will likely die spiritually. Though, I and others have stepped on mines in our lives, we can bear witness to the amazing restoration power of our Lord. We can confess with all surety and conviction that the errors that caused our pain were never due to failures by Christ, but were our own or of others. Our surety in all things, our only hope is in our Lord Jesus Christ. The only thing in question ... is us.

Each of us bears solemn responsibility as we claim His name. Because of human nature, we ourselves become examples of leading to those around us and if we truly follow our Lord, then our steps and the steps of those who might follow us are sure and consequently theirs will be too. But if we err, then we risk misleading not only ourselves, but those who follow or even just watch us to see an example of who Christ is. We make mistakes and the world watches with critical eyes that look to defame our Lord and destroy the faith of those who follow or would. Because of the possibility that others are watching us, we should be constantly in reverent fear and humility to make certain that our leading is Christ in every step, let alone because of the advantages to ourselves. We are none of us perfect in this effort and survive only by the grace, patience, correction and healing of our Lord, so none of us can brag about our progress. Instead, with right hearts, we become even more grateful and bonded to Him in love and share in greater measure His love, compassion, humility and grace in our dealings with others.

James says in James 2:10 "And the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God's laws." This means that we're all on the same footing because in Romans 3:23 Paul says "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard." So in this regard we're equal, with none set above the other by our own righteousness. If we have grown and made progress, then in humility we have to recognize that it's not to our credit but to our Lord's because it's His example we're learning to follow and it's by His compassionate love that He holds our hands to do it. 

We become Christian by truly endeavouring to follow what we know of Him in all things including our example to others. Are Christians perfect? No. Do Christians make mistakes? Yes, I know I still do. Do Christians strive to follow Christ's example better next time? Definitely. Does being a Christian, a follower of Christ's example really lead to a person living a life that's truly fulfilled? Without question, that, done in relationship with Him, is the only thing that does.