Why be a Christian? What are the benefits? Do Christians have easier lives than others? No. Do we make more money than others? Well, not just because we are Christian. In fact Jesus died a total pauper, owning only the robe on his back. Do we live longer on average than others? No. We have all the same problems with our health that non-Christians have. God even said he will make the sun to shine and the rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). And he said Christians should expect to suffer for their faith (Romans 8:17). Wow. Can God be proven to be real the same way we know two plus two will always equal four? No, not anymore so than evolution can be proven in the same way. So what's the big deal about being a Christian? Why go to all the trouble? Any old religion will do won't it?
I am so glad you asked.
The reason for me is found in the Gospel of John. In it Jesus tells his disciples that "I and the Father are one," "the Father is in me," and "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 10:30, 14:6,9). Without arrogance, Jesus simply claimed to be God on earth. No big show, no fanfare, no press agents, DVDs, reality shows, Tweets, BTWs, or OMGs. He didn't even go to Rome, the center of trade, commerce and politics in his day. In a forgotten, dusty little backwater province, hated by most of the world to this day, a homespun preacher made a simple, almost secret claim to few uneducated commoners and then followed through on it despite the terrible consequences for his own life.
That such an innocuous, unknown claim, made by such an absolute nobody in society, in a land forsaken by all, could, in just a little over 300 years, without spears, arrows, swords, or threats, conquer the greatest miltary empire on earth, gives tremendous weight to the claim of Godhood. It simply cannot be ignored, no matter how hard we try. And that this religous faith alone has been attacked unceasingly without mercy for over 2000 years now, without defeating it, speaks even louder for its validity (no one is trying to prove the Easter Bunny a fake).
Either the man, Jesus of Nazareth, was Jesus the Christ, God on earth or he was not. There is no middle ground. No room for shades of gray. 100% yes or 100% no. What this does for me is set my mind and soul at ease in a worriesome world. Think about it. The God of all, the Creator of everything, loves you. He even provided a way for us to be able to find our way home, ie., the death of his only Son. Only the real God would have the willingness and the ability to sacrifice himself to full death and yet while dead, not be dead at all. What a wondrous God indeed. Incredible, that God looks out for us 24/7. What do we have to worry about, really?
So, yes, for the most part life is not any different for Christians than for those who believe differently. Accept for one thing. The moment I gave my life to Christ in that little Methodist Church in eastern Oklahoma in February, 1971, my heart changed. It changed as sure as ice turns to water when exposed to heat. I know that as sure as I know two plus two will always equal four. It cannot be denied, defeated or discredited. It is true, the one true God loved me/you enough to provide the way to salvation and heaven. We don't have to figure it out for oursleves.
Why be a Christian? What is it all about? One thing only. The amazing priviledge of telling others about the love and saving grace of Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am so glad you asked.
The reason for me is found in the Gospel of John. In it Jesus tells his disciples that "I and the Father are one," "the Father is in me," and "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 10:30, 14:6,9). Without arrogance, Jesus simply claimed to be God on earth. No big show, no fanfare, no press agents, DVDs, reality shows, Tweets, BTWs, or OMGs. He didn't even go to Rome, the center of trade, commerce and politics in his day. In a forgotten, dusty little backwater province, hated by most of the world to this day, a homespun preacher made a simple, almost secret claim to few uneducated commoners and then followed through on it despite the terrible consequences for his own life.
That such an innocuous, unknown claim, made by such an absolute nobody in society, in a land forsaken by all, could, in just a little over 300 years, without spears, arrows, swords, or threats, conquer the greatest miltary empire on earth, gives tremendous weight to the claim of Godhood. It simply cannot be ignored, no matter how hard we try. And that this religous faith alone has been attacked unceasingly without mercy for over 2000 years now, without defeating it, speaks even louder for its validity (no one is trying to prove the Easter Bunny a fake).
Either the man, Jesus of Nazareth, was Jesus the Christ, God on earth or he was not. There is no middle ground. No room for shades of gray. 100% yes or 100% no. What this does for me is set my mind and soul at ease in a worriesome world. Think about it. The God of all, the Creator of everything, loves you. He even provided a way for us to be able to find our way home, ie., the death of his only Son. Only the real God would have the willingness and the ability to sacrifice himself to full death and yet while dead, not be dead at all. What a wondrous God indeed. Incredible, that God looks out for us 24/7. What do we have to worry about, really?
So, yes, for the most part life is not any different for Christians than for those who believe differently. Accept for one thing. The moment I gave my life to Christ in that little Methodist Church in eastern Oklahoma in February, 1971, my heart changed. It changed as sure as ice turns to water when exposed to heat. I know that as sure as I know two plus two will always equal four. It cannot be denied, defeated or discredited. It is true, the one true God loved me/you enough to provide the way to salvation and heaven. We don't have to figure it out for oursleves.
Why be a Christian? What is it all about? One thing only. The amazing priviledge of telling others about the love and saving grace of Christ Jesus our Lord.
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