Some years ago when I first began working with church leaders, I used to run seminars called The Grace to Lead. At the beginning of each seminar I would pose this question: What is a Christian? The answers I would receive were very revealing.
Almost all of the delegates replied in terms of things that Christians are supposed to do or are not supposed to do. It seemed that among the sample of leaders that I was working with Christianity had at its heart 'doing' not being.
[What about you - did you think first in terms of behaviour or identity? As a supplementary question, you might like to ask yourself, "What is the purpose of the Law?"]
Consider the metaphors employed by the New Testament writers:
- Branch [Jn 15:5]
- Vessel [2 Cor 4:7]
- Temple [1 Cor 3:16]
What do each of these things do? They are created in order to contain something: a Christian is a container [or conduit] of Christ. The New Testament describes this condition as being 'in Christ'. How does this answer compare with yours?
We are expressers of Life, His life.
[On the subject of the law, most Christians think that it was given to us as a code to live by or a set of rules to keep... but that is not its purpose at all! Quite the opposite in fact, it was given to us to prove that we couldn't keep it, forcing us to accept our human condition and seek out a divine solution.]