For God So Loved The World

Ever wondered what it means to be Christian, a follower of Christ, a people of God? I'm no preacher of any sort, neither am I any holier than you. I write this to share how, I believe, we as Christians should be.

A lot of us tend to drift away from God in the midsts of their studies, stress at work, deadlines to meet, or even when we get too carried away in church activities that we forget the real reason we're doing it in the first place.

My answer is that we need to place God first in all we do. In studying, I put all my trust in Him. I'm studying not for myself, but to glorify Him. "HOW?", you might ask. I don't know. If He gives me a gift, it is my duty to nurture it, to multiply the talents, and perhaps someday, help others with what we have. I believe that all that has already been planned out by the master planner Himself.

For working people; well, you just have to search deep down why are you doing what you do. Is if for money? Fame? Power? I know most of us will have to work for money sometime in our lives. However, we can also use whatever we have, including money, to help others, especially in this season of Lent. We are, afterall, one people of God.

Another thing you might want to think about is this: We tell ourselves that we are doing things for God, but what are we really after? I used to believe that we must do good to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. True, but should we do good only for this "reward"? Is Christ's death on the cross not enough? Is the love of God, so great, that he sent his ONLY son to save us not enough? I had a sudden chill when I realized this.

So back to the original question: What it means to be a Christian. To me, it's doing everything out of love for Him. To love the ones he loves - us. To dislike the things he dislikes - sin. To never again want to hurt him by giving in to temptation. I'm still struggling with this, and I know a lot of us are. It's not easy to carry the cross. Embrace it...