and posted in Explore
Calling yourself a Christian is to publicly declare that you are committed to following Jesus and his way of living. What you believe about Jesus is important because it affects the way you live your life, but this doesn't need to be your starting point. Following Jesus is not as wrapped up in what you believe as you may think.
Being a Christian is about being in an intimate relationship with Jesus' heavenly Father, who wants to be involved in your life and have his Spirit transform you from the inside out; healing and restoring your brokenness, bringing forgiveness and reconciliation into your relationships, and releasing your potential to do good in the world.
It's about being an active part in the outworking of God's dream to see our broken world restored, standing up for the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed, caring for the earth, and seeking to protect children from sin's decaying influence.
It's about being less selfish, dealing with our pride, tearing down our resistance to serve others and learning how to love well.
It's about belonging to a community of people who have been chosen by God to represent him in this world; people who are seeking to bring heaven to earth by using their gifts, resources, energy and passion to positively impact their neighbour's lives and by spurring each other on in love to be all that God has created us to be.
