Would Christ Be A Christian?
Many people today ask questions like "Why Christ?" and "Would Christ be a Christian?" While in some instances the questions are asked from a mean-spirited place, they are real questions nonetheless. The short answer is an unequivocal, unmistakable, resounding YES to both questions; but since "Why Christ" is way too involved for this forum (Look for our book next year!), for a moment let's consider "Would Christ be a Christian".
At its core, being a Christian means to be a follower of – a disciple or learner of – Jesus the Christ, and by default, God the Father. The fullness of Christ’s life did little more than point back to the Father in all He did. And connected to this was continual admonition to us that we do the same thing. So, the answer for us is right there: Christ WOULD follow someone whose life continually pointed people to God.
That said, would YOU be a Christian? If we step a little closer, we see that there can be a big difference between following Christ and the way in which some people practice Christianity, most especially in recent years. Much of what Christ taught (teaches…) does not line up with how many of us feel that we want to live our lives. Following Him becomes problematic because it will call for us to make choices: choices about actions, about work, about language, about money, about entertainment, even choices about relationships. On the face of it, the choices can look really hard: it's either Christ, or that thing we love. In fact, before He tells us "follow Me", He says "...deny yourself" (Luke 9:23). But when we begin to truly understand what He brings to the table to fill the void caused by our choosing Him, we can grasp why He really was the only choice in the first place. For our willingness to follow Him – to be a Christian – He offers us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. You won’t find a better deal anywhere! Paul put it this way:
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.”