Why did you become a Christian?
Was it because of the weekly potlucks? Or maybe because the pastor of your choice captured your brain with his rhetoric? Or was it because you felt you knew what the rules to get to Heaven were?
Why did you become a follower of Jesus?
Throughout Scriptures, God describes our desire for Him in very tangible and gut-wrenching ways:
- “As the deer pants for water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. Where can I find him to come and stand before him?” (Psalm 42:1-2)
- “I myself will see him with my own eyes--I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:27)
- “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
- “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” (Isaiah 58:9)
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” (Matthew 5:6)
You get the idea? We become followers of Jesus because we are thirsty and hungry for Him, we dream of seeing Him, we look and cry out for Him! This is not a merely intellectual pursuit. We are not simply convinced by the processing of information that sounds right to our brains. Neither do we join Christianity simply because it provides a pleasing structure and set of rules to our daily lives.
Jesus wants to be more than a rule. More than idea!
He wants to be yours. Your Savior, Creator, friend and big brother. He wants to have a relationship with you.
After, you do too. So did the people waiting for Jesus the first time around! “They longed for a religion that could satisfy their heart. While the light of truth seemed to have departed from among men, there were souls who were looking for light, and who were filled with perplexity and sorrow. They were thirsting for a knowledge of the living God, for some assurance of a life beyond the grave”. (the Desire of Ages, pg. 32).
A heart satisfying religion! One that would bring them face to face with the desire of their hearts, Jesus! One that would make pain bearable, life better and hope stronger.
I dare say that is why you became a Christian. At least that is why I did.
To know Jesus and live life with Him. Not for a while, but forever.
And of this wasn’t good enough, read what David tells us about such life: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8). A relationship with God brings forth life, good, abundant, blessed life.
In other words: God promises to give you all that is good, for eternity, in return for your heart.
Are you in?
I most certainly am!