You may have been asked if you are a Christian before, whether you are or not. But what is a Christian? Being a Christian means you are in Christ.
When you accept Christ as your personal Savior, He is in you and you are in Him. In Him you are made new and you have a different purpose in life—to bring Him glory by pointing others back to Him.
If you are in Christ, this should be your main identity. When you know who you are in Him, nothing else is more important. The problem is, many of us lose sight of this identity and instead identify ourselves by what we do.
Being a parent, a spouse, and having a certain job does help shape your identity, but you shouldn’t root who you are in your vocation, status, or the skills you have. These things can fade away. You can change jobs or retire. You can become better at things you once couldn’t do and vise versa. Maybe your status has changed from single to married or the opposite.
If you’ve defined who you are by these things, it’s easy to lose yourself when you lose the titles or skills you once had. There is one thing that will never leave you. God will always be there for you and as a Christian, you will always be a child of the King.
This status will never change because God never changes. You were chosen by God to carry out a specific purpose through your life. He outlined your steps according to His plan and will for us all.
If you put your hope in Him first and foremost, He will be praised in everything you do and everything you are. His sacrifice saved your life. It allowed you to be reconciled back to God.
There is nothing you can do and no one you can be to try to earn this salvation. By accepting His willing sacrifice, you receive this saving grace free and clear. This belief marks you with His Spirit and His Spirit seals you.
This seal is a that guarantees your inheritance as a child of God. You sin should have condemned you to death, but this seal is the mark of life. Through Christ is the only way to find eternal life and mend the relationship between you and the Father.
So instead of answering the simple question, “Are you a Christian,” I ask you, “Are you in Christ?” Have you rooted your identity in who you are because of who He is or because of the positions you hold or the skills you have acquired?
