Why?

Recently, I was asked the “Why” question. I was about to do something and a friend told me, “Before you do this you have to answer the “Why” question. Why are you doing this?

In the process of making some of the most important decisions of our lives, we seldom answer that question. We may on some shallow level, but that isn’t enough. Our “Why” answer should be an emotional response. It should be the answer to the question that keeps us up at night from time to time. It may make us cry. For some of us, answering that question is like turning on a light in a dark room. Things begin to come together into a clearer picture. We recognize true purpose and meaning. 

This brings us to the question itself, Why are you a Christian? 

Some of us will speak of finding purpose and meaning in the world. While that could be a good answer, there are many people who seek and, seemingly find, purpose through other things and religions. Others will speak in terms of escaping the wrath of God and the coming judgment. That too would be a sufficient answer, but it is an answer that, ultimately, lies in the future and does little to address the here and now of a person’s faith and actions. Some of us would mention that it arises from the way we were raised. Our parents brought or sent us to church and it has become a part of our ritual. It is something we do out of habit, similar to taking the shoe and sock completely off of one foot before we move on to the other, or taking both shoes off before we take both socks off. Why are we a Christian? Why do we go to church? 

Ultimately, the answer lies totally outside of our own person. We are a Christian because God loved us and called us to be his disciples. Yes, that is my Calvinism sneaking in here. When God summons us to be his disciples, that call is irresistible. The Holy Spirit quickens us. In other words, the Spirit of Christ raises us from spiritual death and decay, allowing us to respond to the call of God upon our lives. That means we do nothing! We have no power. We are a child of the King rather than an orphan on the street. The King chooses the children he will adopt into his house. They don’t choose him.

I know, you may be asking where the emotional response comes from. The Good News is that God has indeed chosen us. He has raised us up from the depths of misery and lostness to participate at his heavenly banquet. We fail to recognize how blessed we are until the moment when we recognize our original state of separateness. 

Why are we a Christian? Because God loved us first in order that we might love Him. 

Pastor Craig