Do you know what it truly means to be a Christian?
If one of your friends asked you this question, what would you say? Would you tell him or her, “Oh, it means that I start going to church?” Or, would you say, “To be a Christian means that I need to be nicer?” Or maybe, “Being a Christian means that I keep a list of rules and my morality is better than most people?”
Here’s what I think Jesus would say about being a Christian: It’s about spiritual birth.
In John’s Gospel, we read about a conversation Jesus had with a Jewish Rabbi named Nicodemus, who knew all about the Bible and lived an impeccably moral life. Jesus said to him, “Unless you’re born from above, unless you’re born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
You see, spiritual life demands a spiritual birth.
This means living a new life with a new status and a new identity. God loves us, so He’s not looking for our performance or our religious activity. He’s looking for a relationship. And for that relationship to occur, we first need to turn from our sin and receive Jesus as our saviour.
Jesus went on to say to Nicodemus, “If any man believes in me, if any man receives me, I give him the right to become a child of God.”
In the same way, if you receive Jesus as your saviour, you become God’s beloved son or daughter and are born again.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16)
So here’s the game changer that you’ll experience forever: Take Jesus up on His invitation. Invite Him to come into your life. Turn from your sin, receive His forgiveness, and tell someone about it today.
Blessings until next time
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