being a christian in 2020
Over the course of human history, being a true person of faith has always been a challenge. It’s a constant spiritual battle that we have to face every single day. Long before Christ, men of God would fear Him because He would appear and show power in action. They lived by the commandments religiously. During Christ’s days on earth, followers got the privilege of sharing the same air as Jesus while observing Him in real life. When religion got in the way of mercy, Jesus broke the rules. It baffled the people and divided the spiritual from the religious. Although God always remains the same, the way Christians approach their faith is quite different than it used to be. All modern Christians have to focus on is having a friendship/relationship with Jesus. Just like having a genuine friendship with anybody else; friendships consist of loyalty and love expressed through sacrifice. Standing up and taking care of the weaker ones. As well as being willing to suffer because the depth of your love is deeper than the ocean. So you do it because you love Jesus that much. In addition, the Holy Spirit within you helps keep you sane in the middle of all the chaos. Overall, being a follower of Christ is not as easy as it may appear. Those blissful moments that Christians often experience sometimes only happen after hours and hours of prayer.
It is proclaimed that as a Christian, there are protocols that we “have to follow” or else we are considered “close minded.” In light of recent politics, it is clear that there are organizations with good intentions that we MUST support. However, oftentimes those organizations aren't even centered around Christ. We hear that Christians should be proactive and vote for the future. If they won’t vote, they are neglecting and dishonoring the country. However, we can’t forget the part that every human is unique as an individual. We are unique in our service calling to God. It's important to have an open heart and hear what God has to says specifically for us. Then we take the next step with a clean concious. There is beauty in being different as we work towards one goal.
This world has so much to offer, but there is so little time. As Christians, we need to optimize our time wisely so that our “priority time” with God isn’t during our “spare time.” A devoted day would start off with a morning devotion and end with evening worship. According to King Solomon, all the works done under the sun are all “vanity and vexation of spirit.” The time of planning, the effort of building and seeing good results are all signs of vanity. Even the most graceful events and the beautiful dresses can carry us away. There’s only one way we can be “in the loop” and not get carried away - not losing our focus on the main thing. The one goal that unites us as a whole is glorifying God through our lives.
It is a blessing to have a Bible for every believer. Not too long ago, Bibles were torn away from the homes of our fellow brothers and sisters. No matter how hard they tried to hide the Scriptures, they were found and burnt. Today, we have the freedom and the ability to read, learn, and take away from our personal Bibles. If you think about it, we live in a magnificent time. We have all the time in the world to dwell and study the most popular book in all of history. While we are taking advantage of having the Word, let’s not forget that our personal Bibles can get taken away any day. The Bible is meant to be acted on and implemented into the core values of our life. Let us do our best in prioritizing our time with God and make the best of our time here on earth. God should always come first and never the last!
Being a Christian in 2020 takes a lot of courage, dedication, patience, compassion, self control etc.. Which all can only be accomplished through Christ Himself. We already know that nothing good ever happens without God’s consent. Everything in this world is temporary, but God’s love is forever. God continues to overwhelm us with His merciful approach toward our sinful nature. His love is undeserving; yet, we still get chances after chances. We must be the luckiest people in the world to experience God in our life.
I just want to encourage my, brothers and sisters to continue shining God’s light through your lives. You’re doing awesome and it won’t be ignored. Stay blessed!