Why I'm a Christian

I'll be on the road for a couple of days, so I decided before I put my pedal to the medal, I'd write a quick post on why I am a Christian. Sorry for the brevity, I know full well that a topic like this is not something that can be covered in a few short paragraphs.

First, let me give the reasons why I am not a Christian. I am not a Christian because I'm an American and I feel that it is my patriotic duty to be a Christian (more on that in another post..yes...there are people who actually hold to this ideology..I'm not making this one up). Furthermore, I am not a Christian because I understand everything in the Bible. I do not. In fact, there are many passages in the Bible that I find deeply disturbing. Neither am I a Christian because I can defend every passage in the Bible. I can not. I'm not even sure if I ever will. Apologetics has helped me a lot over the years, but the more I learn about life, the world, and people of other faiths and philosophies, I have come to realize that a person can be a genuinely intelligent and (at least by human standards) moral human being and not be a Christian.

So why am I a Christian? First and foremost, I can say that I am a Christian because I believe that the essentials of the Christian faith as outlined in the Apostles Creed are true. I believe that God, as revealed in the Old and New Testaments and, specifically in the person of Jesus Christ is the true God.

I have not come to this conclusion lightly. Perhaps one can say that I am a Christian by default because I have genuinely reviewed all the other major religions and philosophies and they have come up short. That, however, is not a reason to embrace the Christian faith.

If I can put all my reasons in a nutshell, then I would say that I am a Christian because of the cross. When I look at the cross and see the man of meekness bearing my sin, I am breathless. The more I consider backing out the more the image of Jesus haunts me. Jesus confronts me, challenges me, inspires me, and yes, even at times, He frustrates me, but most importantly, I know that He loves me.

I am a Christian because I believe that love is the most powerful force in the world and only Jesus can show me what love truly is. I follow the only book in the world that says, "God is love." In Jesus, love is not merely an impersonal force (as in eastern religions). In Jesus, love has a face, a name, a character. When I look at the moral life of Jesus, I see a man deeply connected with human suffering-and that is why I love Him so much.

Lastly, I am a Christian because of the resurrection. Because He lives, I know that I can live too, not only in the here and now, but in the there and then as well. Jesus holds my past, my present and my future safely in His hands and because nothing can separate me from His love, I know that He will never let me go. If I were Jesus, I probably would have given up on me a long time a go. But I am not and He has not and that, my friend is why I am a Christian.