“Always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15
I decided years ago to
live my life as a follower of Jesus Christ….not a believer only, but one who makes
every effort to live those beliefs. Since
I made that decision, my life has changed.
And, I became willing to share my belief with anyone who wants to know
the why of my living as I do.
The most simple
definition of the word ‘Christian’ is ‘to be Christ-like’…..that was my focus when
I made the decision to be a Christian. I
wanted to be Christ-like, not churchy, not tangled in legalism or denominationalism. But the question remains, why would I want to
be like Christ?
Well, have you
checked Him out? Really checked Him out?
Not just took someone’s word for who Jesus Christ is, but checked Him
out for yourself? I did. The result was a changed life…a life that
bears no resemblance to the person I was before. I’ve got to admit, I like the latter me a
whole lot better than the former me. I
doubt it would be difficult to find many other people who feel the same way. I
have love in my heart and love in my life.
And it’s not just something I say, it’s something I live. God increased my capacity to care for others
exponentially. Not only that, it’s
something I get back. I have no shortage
of family and friends who love me. Yes, I have my detractors…for a wide variety
of reasons. But that doesn’t bother me,
it doesn’t define me and it cannot destroy my peace. The
lack of their love could never overshadow the wealth of love God has placed in
my life.
But that leads to the
question of ‘how’..,,,how does one check out Jesus Christ and end up with a
changed life? I’ll tell you what I
did. I decided to work from a default of
“God exists, He loves me and wants to make a difference in my life.” I figured if that were not the case, I would
find out soon enough. Then, I prayed and
asked Him to help me. And I told Him
that if I did find Him, I was going all in.
Now this next part may sound a little out there & you may doubt it…..until
it happens to you. But I felt the love
of God surround me in a way that felt like a warm, gentle full body hug. Then, I became aware of a shift in my
understanding of spiritual things. That
is because God is Spirit and He cannot be found by natural human understanding. It changed my perspective of the value of my
life, the value of the lives of others and showed me what I am here for.
As I have continued
in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I have reaped the benefits. The more I know of Him, the better my life
gets. The love in my life has increased,
the peace in my life has increased, the joy in my life has increased. I am not saying that I am perfect or that my
life is perfect, but things are so much better with the Lord in my life that I
wouldn’t consider doing life any other way.
He is the reason for the hope I have.
And because I trust Him, I look forward to many good days.
If that sounds good
to you, I am be happy to introduce you to my Lord and Savior. There is more than enough of Him to go
around. Please know that God loves you,
and He is just waiting to give you hope and make a difference in your life.
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