Let’s start with an important fact: I am a Christian.
This means I believe in an omniscient God, who is the only god, who made all that we see and even more that we don’t see. I also believe that this God sent His one and only perfect son, Jesus, to die a brutal death as a sacrifice for human race’s sin so we can spend eternity with Him in heaven that I also believe exists… spiritually, at least. Becoming a Christian is simply truly repenting for your sins and accepting that Jesus Christ’s death is enough to save you.
For me, the most important and exciting part of being a Christian is the Jesus part. The idea of a perfect person dying for me is enough to give me chills and bring me to tears, because let’s face it, I’m anywhere from perfect, yet this perfect person died for me?
That’s what I believe wholeheartedly.
So, what does it look like for a 20 (almost 21) year-old college student to be a Christian? There are the obvious outward things that I don’t do: I don’t spend my nights drinking and my days hungover, I don’t blaze up (do people still say that?) before class, I don’t have sex with anyone, and I don’t cuss every other word. Honestly, I don’t want to do these things. But I do want to spend time with the God who made everything we see and more, I want to read the Bible, and I want to live a life that will last longer than nights at the bars ever will.
Then there are the inward feelings that come with being a 20 year-old Christian: like the feeling of knowing I am loved enough for someone to die for me, how I no longer feel anxiety every day about what I should do after receiving that coveted diploma, how even when I go through a breakup or drama with friends I know there is someone faithful to stay with me through it, and when I do something I know I shouldn’t have there is unfathomable grace to take away the pain.
Being a Christian isn’t about following a list of rules, but about experiencing a love that will last longer and satisfy more than anything in this world.
Because of these feelings I get to experience and the facts I believe are true, I choose to follow Jesus and his example. 1 Timothy 1:5 says “the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (ESV). A Christian’s aim is to love with a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
Because I follow Jesus, I aim to love everyone that I come in contact with. Because I am also human, I fail to do these things more often than I would like, but that just means I work again and again to love and live better than I did before.
This is what I mean when I say I am a Christian. I praise God and I strive to live and love like Jesus. And everything that comes with it is worth it.