JOHN 17:1-3 – When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
THEME OF THE DAY. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE DEFINED BY JESUS. Picture this situation. Let’s say we have an observant neighbor or co-worker who is really going through a tough time in life. Like in a pandemic. They have been watching us do our “Christian routines” – going to church, reading our Bibles, doing good deeds, and avoiding things that are immoral and unethical. After a short period of time with their situation not getting better and hopelessness increasing, they start to think, “I wonder if there is really any hope or help in this Christian thing I see in (our names)? Maybe I should talk to (our names).” Well, their courage arrives to the point they contact us. Here is how the conversation begins, “I am really going through a tough time. I just don’t know where to turn. I have tried to be positive and think positive thoughts” (by the way, positive thinking without any regards to the Lord, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God is simply secular humanism that may make us feel good, but nothing more and only for a short time). Then, our neighbor or co-worker, looks at us, maybe even with tears, and proposes this question, “What is a Christian and does it help you in life?”
How would you, how would I answer that desperate question? Well, we don’t have the space to expound on this nor do I think we need to. There is a refreshing simplicity in the answer “What is a Christian?” and the follow-on question, “Does it help you in life?” And where do we find this simple definition and application of being a Christian? Today’s scripture defined by Jesus. Our Lord doesn’t state it in words like. “This is what a Christian is . . .?” No, He defines it more accurately – “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Did we get it? A Christian is a person who knows God, knows Christ. It isn’t a religious person who avoids bad behavior and does some good works. Nor is it a person who reads the Bible, offers some mechanical words of prayer, and goes to church. A Christian is someone who has been brought into a living relationship with the Living God and commences to walk daily in a real relationship with this living God that absolutely and thoroughly changes their life. Does that define us? I hope so. I hope we are not professing Christians by knowledge only, but “possessing Christ” Christians who have a relationship with God that is more real than any other relationship we have on earth. That is what a Christian is and does it make all the difference in our lives? Absolutely. After all, He is the Creator and nothing is too hard for Him.
So, when our neighbor, co-worker, or anyone else God brings to us asks, “What is a Christian?”, don’t give the “Christianese answer.” Instead give the Biblical answer – a Christian is someone who has been brought into a living relationship with the Living God. And then, offer to help your seeking friend to find Christ through His Word; not in religion or church, but through the living Word of God which is able to bring the seeking sinner to the Only Savior.
PRAYER: “Father, help me not define the life You gave me in Your Son by my own understanding and pre-suppositions.”
QUOTE: “The Christian life is knowing and walking with God through the Bible, prayer, and obedience.”