Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

On New Year’s Day, it is meaningful to reflect on what it means to be a Christian. What does it require of us if we call ourselves Christian and want to keep Jesus Christ the center of our lives? It probably takes a lifetime to profoundly answer these questions but today I want to check out few pointers Christ himself gave us.

Now that we are called and claimed we are sent out to make disciples. We are not to stay to ourselves, we have a mission to go out and share God’s love and grace with everyone who we encounter. Of course, that is easier said than done, but our God is God of infinitive possibilities. God who can do amazing things if we let God work through us. The fifth step to (re)make Jesus Christ the center of our lives is to welcome Word become flesh in our own lives. We need to let the Holy Spirit create a new spirit in us and move on to serve God.

We don’t need to be something else than we are. We’ve been created to be us; we are called as we are. We don’t need to make ourselves right with God; we’ve been made right with God by Jesus Christ. Our role is to believe and receive God’s grace through faith. In response to God’s love we are ready to be sent out. Jesus promised to be with us until the end of the world. We don’t need to worry, God’s word is true.

We welcome God to become flesh in our own lives by claiming all the promises of the Bible and living them boldly out. God will enable us to serve him, share his love with others and make disciples. That’s what it means to be Christian: to believe in Christ and act upon our beliefs by the grace of God.

Gracious God,
We come to you in awe of you:
Long before we were born you had a plan to save us.
You have called and claimed us,
now send us out to share your love and grace!
Guide us to live according to your will.
Through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Amen

Q4U: Where do you feel called?