Am I A Christian?

Many of us are familiar with questions like,” Have you been saved or Are you a born again Christian? or have you received Christ as your Savior or something to that effect. Probably someone asked you such question that drove you to accept Christ and join a church.The excitement of getting saved could have even propelled you to ask your friends, associates and even bystanders a similar question in order to win him or her for Christ.

As a new born Christian, you were on fire to share the Good News with others. Meanwhile, you would have gained a church family, signed up for Bible studies and volunteered to work at a Soup kitchen or some charity organization. With an ardent desire to serve God, you kept yourself busy with church activities whenever possible. You felt so good as being recognized in the eyes of those around you for serving God so well by tithing your time and money for God.

As you busier and busier working for God, your time with God may have slowly dwindled without you even realizing it. You might have even read through the entire Bible a couple of times and had started teaching at Bible studies and have a great fellowship with the church family.

What about your fellowship with God? Probably, in our times of need and troubles, we might seek Him and give Him the priority. Otherwise, we may have kept Him on the SOS basis.

Like Martha of Bethany, we was too busy wasting the time to entertain the Lord by worrying over whether the food she prepared for her guests had turned out well and tasty, the house was swept clean and tidy and the house was kept quiet and comfortable for guests to relax., Without much help from Mary and no electrical appliances to ease her workload, it wasn’t that easy for her. Yet, as an excellent hostess, she wanted to do everything right and proper. Seeing her stressed out and getting annoyed with Mary, we would have rushed into the kitchen to give her a helping hand and even patted her back and complimented her for her efficiency and hospitality.

But, to our surprise, we find Jesus complimenting Mary instead of Martha, who toiled over His visit. For in Luke 10:41 He says, “Martha Martha you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed and Mary had chosen that good part.” What did Mary do to entertain the Lord. Nothing! She just sat at the Master’s feet and listened to everything He said. Martha, on the other hand was too busy to listen to what the Lord came to say on this visit.

What do you think Jesus would be telling us today? ” Oh, my children, just come and sit with me. Spend some time with me to really know me so that you’ll come to know what I want you to do. Instead of doing that, you are running around and planning things that you think would please me. Do not sweat over minor matters like the size of auditorium you are building or the size of your congregation or the competency of your music team or the outreach programs you try to do on my behalf. Those may look essentials but I want you to know me first. ” Don’t you think our Lord would say something like that to us or would He applaud us for sweating over programs, building projects and worship methods?

In our day and age, when we are expected to perform well and succeed, sitting still is considered to be unproductive. It does not seem to yield any benefit in the world’s point of view. But, ” Be still and know that I am God, ” says the One whose view is far higher and deeper than our point of view.

Just carrying the label “Christians” do not truly make us Christians. We should be Christ like in our attitude and behavior. 2000 years ago, the name ‘Christians’ was given to Christ’s followers in Antioch because they displayed a Christ like character and attitude towards others. Such nature and way of life differentiated them from the rest of the people in the area to earn the name, “Christians.”

Today, are we different from others in the world? Maybe we keep away from alcohol, drugs, swearing, cheating etc. But what about our heart desires and life styles? Are they different from the rest of the world?

We need to question ourselves deep and honestly to assess whether we are worthy to label ourselves as “Christians.” True, no one is perfect and Christian walk is not easy either. But we are accountable for the name we uphold. The whole world is watching us. In today’s world, it is waiting for a Christian or a Christian leader to falter in order to bring stain on Christianity.

So, what do we do to prevent that? “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing ,but the body is weak.” Jesus said to His disciples in Gethsemene.(Mathew 26:41)

“Preach the gospel all the time. If necessary use words.” St. Francis of Assisi.

Below is my poem titled, “Am I A Christian?” which was published 20 years ago in two Christian magazines. I was new to writing at that time and it was my first ever submission to the publishers. I simutaneously submitted three of my poems to a few Christian magazines. When I mailed the typed out poems in the manilla envelopes, I had no hope of hearing from any of the magazines. But to my surprise, within three weeks, two magazines wrote to say that they wanted to publish my poem “Am I A Christian?”

As you’d note that this simple poem wouldn’t have captured the eyes of the editors because of it’s poetical style or skill. Most probably the content of the poem must have had an impact on them to make them want to publish the poem. Even when I read out the poem at a Christian Writers Conference a few months later, I did get applause as well as an encouraging compliment from one of the guest speakers the next day. That further assured me how vital this question is for every Christian.