Being a Christian: What Does That Look Like? – Guest Post

Happy Monday, all!

Today’s post was written by my role model, counselor, fellow jokester, debater, and one of my very best friends: my brother Peyton.

I’m laughing here as I see him saying he’s not a good writer… because I’m of the absolute opposite opinion. Some of the things I love most about him are his hard honesty and unwavering devotion to the people and causes he loves. Here he displays those qualities perfectly.

Without further ado… here he is.:)

My name is Peyton Luehmann. I am Laurel’s younger brother and I will begin by warning you: I am not a blogger! I am actually not even a good author, so it was incredible that she let me do this.

I told her I would write an overview on what it means to be a Christian because that is, to me, the most important element of our lives. I find my purpose, identity, and fulfillment in the sacrifice made at Calvary, and feel that all Christians are called to that perspective. I have put this post together in the form of answers to the title.

It means that Christ becomes everything to us.

This is really the biggest point. The reality is that we are criminals convicted (by a just God) of infidelity and hostility towards Him, and that instead of having to bear the death penalty for sin (without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin) we are met with the news that someone has taken our penalty for us, and we can go free! What news indeed!

Now I pose the question: would not this person who took the penalty for us be deserving of some form of gratitude? The answer is absolutely. A perfect Being came as a real live human and suffered an unthinkable death to pay our fine. Such a Being would be more than deserving of simple “gratitude”! He would deserve our very lives.

Therefore, we come to a place of realization that we are forever indebted to this God, this Christ, this Holy Spirit. Our only just response can be the complete surrender of our will to His, the reverence-filled obedience to His instructions, and the act of losing ourselves in His love; this is a perfect and holy love, unparalleled by human feeling.

It means that we must lose sight of all trivial matters.

2 Timothy 2:4 says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life. . .”. Our relationship with this world must become wary and untrusting; we must view the surrounding world as a net that threatens to entangle us. It is true that we were put here by our God, but in light of the fact that He is now all to us, we have no choice but to abandon our flesh and march after our King.

We are also told that all of mankind will hate us for our connection with Christ. Our journey will be that of despised outcasts if we are living in accordance with the instructions given us. But our home is in a better country; we have the promise of a perfect land where sin and death have no power. This world is simply a preparation for Eternity.

It means that we must become oblivious to the opinion of others in our pursuit of Christ.

This is one that I really wrestle with a lot. I read stories in the Bible (and elsewhere) of real people who, in their devotion to God, ignored what surrounding people might think in their obedience to perform His will. People like Noah, Abraham, Daniel, Mary, and countless others. Our culture today especially is constantly concerned with their reputation, other people’s perception of them, etc. It is all a disgusting swamp to me. We are letting our connections with the world (which should be completely severed at our union with Christ) hold us back from living delightfully all for Him. The concept of a mind freed from concern of status is a beautiful image to me, and one that I puzzle over constantly.

I hope that this gave you a renewed view of Christianity, and that you would either claim this unspeakable gift if you have not already done so, or that, if you have, what you just read would spur you on to a deeper, fuller, and more amazing relationship with Jesus. Again, this life is all about Him and the promise of what is to come. Keep living for Christ!