I Am A Christian

I am a Christian because it was through the stories and teachings of Christianity that I discovered my own spiritual nature and my own prayerful connection with God.

Jesus had an impact on the world because his lessons were profound, but simple. He taught and demonstrated that living with love towards God and all other people is our most important goal in life.

36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."    (Matthew 22:36-40)

This passage is a remarkable view of Jesus’ mind and message. What is in your heart is more important than any religious dogma or tradition. Jesus described living the truth underlying these commandments as what it takes to enter the “Kingdom of God,” which is always available, whenever you are ready to accept it. To alter this message with clarifications, exceptions, or conditions changes it to someone else’s message.

Whatever the ultimate truth of the universe is, it is what we call God. Humans are not capable of comprehending God, but we are capable of experiencing God. Jesus demonstrated and taught the perfect relationship (the Christ) between human kind and God (ultimate Truth). Jesus demonstrated how to live this way and he made it clear this is the expectation for everyone.

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

I validated my Christian faith by testing Jesus’ spiritual teachings (his parables and sayings in the Synoptic Gospels) during my life and they have always proven to be true, often in ways I could never have anticipated. I have witnessed glimpses of the Kingdom of God in my life and have had a lifelong prayerful relationship with God. I strive to live righteously each moment because now is the segment of eternity I can influence. My faith is profoundly based on the practical application of Jesus’ teachings and his example of the Christ.

I also know that this Christ experience is the same universal truth being experienced and expressed in the lives of many other individuals growing up in other religions. I know this because God is love, everywhere. The followers of any faith system, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, must be careful not to worship their dogma of separation and exclusivity more than they do the unconditional love of God.

My religious faith was molded by the course of my own life experiences, so I doubt that my beliefs are the same as anyone else’s. As I grew up I stopped accepting religious teachings simply because my teacher was my parent, my minister, or a spiritual leader held in high regard by others. 

Spiritual teachings had to make sense to me when applied to the events in my life and to what I knew about the world. If they did not make sense, then I respectfully set them aside. Only what has been proven to me to be true, wise, loving, and universal, has been kept as my guiding light of Christian faith.  

“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  (1 Corinthians 13:11)  

Faith: The Security Of Knowing

Amid Any Circumstance