What  do you say to someone who isn’t really familiar with the Bible?  How do you communicate what is in your heart and soul about following Jesus?  How do you talk about this without sounding stuck up, condescending, or just dumb?  Well, I’m not sure I’m going to avoid any of those, but I’m going to give it a shot.  Here goes.

What Does Being a Christian Mean to Me?

What is the Bible All About?

There’s this story about this kid.  He escaped from a WWII work camp in Eastern Europe, and just wanted to find his mom.  So, he made this incredible journey across Europe.  Such bravery.  Such spirit.  And, he found her.  But, you know that’s not our story.

Here’s another story.  This girl gets held captive by terrorists.  Goes on for years.   And, she’s awaiting her death sentence.  Turns out all this time her father has been searching for her, and one day her rich brother shows up.  He’s going to pay the ransom, and the ransom is his life.  He’ll take his sister’s place.   So, the girl is rescued.

That’s more our story.  The world is messed up.   Cancer.  Corruption.  Death.  It’s there.  Our story is that God came into this messed up world.  He came for us.

Jesus died and arose to rescue the world.  To set it right. To beat death.  And, he did.  He arose.

So, we’re blessed, even if we suffer, even if we cry sometimes, because we know that his reign is coming.  It’s a reign of love and truth.  And, so we shine.  We do all we can to show the truth of the world, this powerful love.

And, we do crazy things like loving our enemies.  We do unheard of things like being pure in heart and mind.  Why?  Because there’s this truth that we’re living out.   It’s the reign of the real King of the world.

So, we don’t do our religion just for show.  Yeah, we go to worship, but it’s not to be in the social club.  Yeah, we pray, but it’s not for political brownie points.  It’s because we know this is real, and it’s world changing.   And, we don’t get caught up in materialism, because we know there’s a greater purpose for our lives.  And, we don’t worry, because we know how it all ends and who is in control.

And, we’re not hard on people because we know they are fellow travelers too who are on this journey to truth and love.

We may not be perfect, but we are affected by this powerful love.

So, that’s what I’d try to say to my friends, and that’s the way I try to live.  I don’t do the best job of it from time to time, but that’s why I’m thankful for the grace of God.  Because like we said at the beginning, we don’t earn our way to God.  He paid the ultimate price for us.  He came searching for us.   And, maybe right now, he’s searching for you.