What defines a good Christian person? Perfect Sunday School attendance? Generous giving when the plates come around? The words used in conversation on a Saturday night? The music listened to when nobody is watching? Is it obedience? Does going on a mission trip make a person a good Christian? Is it through baptism, through communion? Is a good Christian person defined by worship style, by being conservative or radical? Is a good Christian walk about following the rules and checking things off a list of appropriate actions and beliefs?


NO.


Who do we have to be for God to love us? Well, we have to be exactly who He created us to be. Its not about doctrine, its not about theology. The key is in the relationship. I absolutely believe that baptism is essential for salvation. But I have allowed that concept to become an idol in my life, a thing that distracts me from what is the MOST important thing...a relationship with my creator, with my father.


I was broken this past week. I realized that I do not accept God's love very well. I try to fulfill His expectations to earn my way into good graces with Him. When I finally grasped that, wow was I a complete mess. I have been acting like a Pharisee for the past couple of months, letting laws inhibit my ability to build relationships with my team and my GOD. And when I say broken, I was on the floor, crying my eyes out...completely outside of who I typically am. Actions and structure replaced relationship. I was my biggest obstacle to a deeper relationship with God.


All of this might scare some people from back home. I just want you guys to know...I am not abandoning my roots by any means. I am just seeing things with different eyes. I am changing the order of importance on things. God is shaping me into a better me. I am not going to be defined by being a World Racer. I am not going to be defined by being a Church of Christer. My identity is found in my relationship with God. I am going to walk in that and grow into the person that God has created me to be.


Thoughts?