Don't call me a Christian any more!

It has become increasingly bothersome to me how the word "Christian" is misused in this day and age. When religious affiliation is requested on forms, many mark the "Christian" box. Those same people are lying on their tax forms, using drugs or abusing alcohol, living with a significant other, aborting babies as a form of birth control or having babies out of wedlock. I have done it myself.

My husband has worked in the automotive industry for over 15 years. Some individuals that he has worked with wear their Christianity like a badge of honor. Loud and proud I would say. Bible thump er Jack would say. Unfortunately, these individuals proclaim righteousness and judgement to all who listen (and many who don't) and then rip off customers and fellow employees in the next moment.

A few years ago I began to read the Gospels with the intention of discovering for myself the man, Jesus, and the example his life is to us. What I discovered was God fully engaged here as a man in our lives with all that it means to be human. Jesus had nothing but his mission. He was hungry, tired, homeless, tempted and boy, did he suffer. He stayed focused on what he was meant to do. What indescribable love he showed.

As a result, I have begun to call myself a Christ follower. There is such a deeper meaning in those two words. To me it means behaving as he behaved, sacrificing as he sacrificed and loving as he loved. It means to walk in the light. Ephesians 5:8 tells us that now we are light in the Lord and to walk in the light. I John 1:7 reads, "But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin."

Sometimes following Christ means taking a different path from others, especially when it does not make sense to anyone. Sometimes it means being so open and transparent that you lose friends. Sometimes it means being obedient even when I do not want to obey.

I made a conscious choice to take a different path and to follow Christ. I choose to follow Christ with all that it means.