The Real Thing

Christianity is not about associations, but a relationship.  The heresy is that we are made Christian by our association with the faith of our mothers and father, a religious affiliation, our peer group, or an identity in a community that seeks to do good through service.  Such an understanding of Christianity does not need Jesus. Jesus was not and is not about institutional membership, but is instead about knowing those who come after Him, being known by them, and beginning a journey together.   

It is not what we do that makes us Christians.  Others may look at us and see a good person who is doing good things and declare us a Christian and we may do the same when we look in the mirror and see ourselves, but the only thing which identifies us as a Christian is that we have chosen a relationship with Jesus.  The relationship with Christ is not one we can initiate, but one God has initiated and made possible through the sacrificed blood of Jesus on the cross.  We become Christians not when we join, but when we accept this relationship which is always about the grace of God. 

Until we identify with Christ in this divinely ordained relationship, we may be worthy of the name good, or the name respectable, or even the name pillar of the church, but we only become Christians when we say "Yes" to what Christ has done for us and allow the Holy Spirit to begin God's work in us.  The church's witness and ministry in the world is diminished when we equate membership, or a willingness to serve others with being a Christian.  We become Christians not by joining a church, or associating with certain groups, but by choosing a personal relationship with Jesus.  Anything less is counterfeit.  It only looks like the real thing.