Almost everyone in the world has been affected by Christianity in some way. Sometimes good, more often than not (it would seem) bad. Anyone who has picked up a history book has probably heard about the Crusades and about all of the atrocities that humans commit even now "in the name of God". In the following, I will attempt to shed some light on what Christianity is and what it isn't... what Salvation is and how being a Christian is not the same as being christian. Hopefully some who read this will be effected in their own lives to be more of a "little c"(christian) instead of a "big c"(Christian).
As we all know (hopefully) Christianity begins with something known in church as "Salvation".
sal·va·tion (s
l-v
sh
n)n.
1.
a. Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil.
b. A source, means, or cause of such preservation or deliverance.
2. Christianity
a. Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.
b. The agent or means that brings about such deliverance.
More to the point, this means that one has been saved from "hell" or rather eternal suffering and separation from God and everything that He is which is everything that is good. (Tangent: There is a place called the "Lake of Fire", but that has been reserved for Satan and all of his God-hating minions... Humans can go there, but that is a different talk for a different place and time.)
But my intention here is not to discuss theology or to define something that most people are at least somewhat aware of. My intention is to point out that being "saved" does not a Christian make. In some churches I suppose it passes... but again, that is a different discussion.
You see, it goes like this: 200o+ years ago, God Himself came down in the flesh to this wretched backwards planet that we call earth. He had already created it and due to some big errors on the part of selfish and prideful humanity He wanted to save it. See, when He made the Universe He set an unchangeable law in to play: Namely, the Law of Sin and Death. If you Sin, you will die. But because He loves us so much, he wants us to be with Him for Eternity (He put eternity into the heart of man) and so He had to make a way around that law. So He came down in the form of Jesus Christ (known as His Son, AKA God in the Flesh).
But simply coming down here was not enough. The law requires a payment for sin, and that payment is a pure and spotless sacrifice. But who in the history of the Universe had ever been perfect? No one. So He had to do it Himself, and He DID because He LOVES US. He lived entirely as a human, from birth through puberty to maturity and death. He lived perfectly and then He willingly allowed Himself to be sacrificed; paying in FULL the entire debt for the sin of the world once and for all. But because He is God, simply dieing was not enough... HE DEFEATED DEATH AND ROSE AGAIN!
THIS is the basis for Salvation... 1) Accepting that you (human) are prideful, selfish, and that you sin and have sinned and that you are going to pay for your sin. 2) Humbly accepting God's amazing gift of Salvation-- His payment for YOUR sin so you don't have to pay for it. 3) Not throwing it away by going back to your old ways, but living a new life accepting His grace and working to change.
Salvation alone does not a Christian make.
Christianity is NOT about going to church, being a good person, doing good works, worshipping Jesus, talking to a priest, praying to the holy mother, or any other such ritual. Christianity, or rather being christian, is about RELATIONSHIP. See, there is ONE THING that separates the ONE TRUE GOD from any other god or religion on this planet. That thing is that this God loves you (human). He loves you and wants to talk to you, to walk with you, to comfort you when you are down and to rejoice with you when you are up. He wants a human and a friend... not a robot. This is why we have free will. Realize then the downside of free will: Not everyone will choose God. Many will choose themselves and in doing so will hurt and destroy others, ruin and even destroy others lives and their own. God does not force us to love Him or to be "good", He can but He won't because we aren't robots and He doesn't want robot servants... He wants human friends. People that love Him because He loves them. People that reflect that amazing love in their lives. These people are christian. They feed the hungry, assist the needy, visit the lonely, and generally show God's love to the entire world because of their love for God and their relationship with Him.
Thus, Christianity is only a religion as good as it helps those who suffer. Being christian is not religion, it is recognizing who we are and who God is and responding to Him in a positive way.
Jesus died for you... Are you willing to die to yourself? To let go of yourself and what you want and to dive into a real relationship with the ONE TRUE GOD of the Universe? He is ready...
