Wow, talk about stress. The first post of a blog. I know that not many people will read this when it is posted, I mean, after all, no one but my wife and kids even know I have a blog yet. No one is waiting anxiously for their computer to ping them that my blog has a new post. But still, if anyone comes to my blog in the future, if, by some miracle, they like it, they might come back to see how it all started. That puts a lot of pressure on a guy. It means I really have to make a great first post so as not to disappoint my future readers/fans/followers (sorry, not sure what to call you guys). So how to make a great first post…
Well, to be honest, I’ve been thinking about this for a bit already. Truth be told, I created the blog yesterday, but I’ve been thinking about what to do for my first post. I thought about talking about baseball (I really do love baseball). I thought about doing an introduction page, but there is the About page for that. I thought about my family, my work, so many thoughts. Then I realized that there was one thing more important than any of the others. If, indeed, some folks come back here in the future to see what the “first” post was, then I really want them to know what was the most important thing for me to talk about. While there are many important things in my life, the absolute most important is my relationship with Jesus Christ.
It is difficult to explain to someone who doesn’t know, but everything must start with Christ. Without a personal relationship with Christ, life has little meaning. I know some people will disagree with that. The entire message of the Scriptures is about the Gospel. Simply put, the Gospel refers to the fact that we are sinners and Jesus Christ died to pay the price of those sins. Without that payment for sin, we can’t have a personal relationship with Christ, and man was created to have that relationship. I know that is a controversial statement, but it is what I believe.
Probably the biggest argument I’ve heard on the internet revolves around the lack of “Christianity” in people claiming to be Christians. I can’t answer to the acts or attitudes of others. I can say that the Bible’s teaching is consistent. John 13:35 is clear instructions to followers of Christ, “…have love one to another.” This is not far from the teaching all the way back to Exodus. Jesus summarized it in Matthew 23:37-39. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
The problem here is that many “Christians” do not understand what this “love” is. Many consider it to be the mushy, anything goes love that ignores sin and wrong. Others consider it to be a “tough love” with a hardness an cruelty that blinds many to any love that may be hiding there. Neither is correct. God’s love is tender and compassionate, but doesn’t ignore sin. More than anything, it is sacrificial. Christ, the perfect example of God’s love, left Heaven and came to earth to pay the penalty for sins that He did not commit. He did this for us, because we couldn’t do it ourselves.
So much more could be said about this, but I’ve rambled on long enough. I could easily talk much longer about it, the love of God, as exemplified by Christ is something I try to use as a pattern for my own life. I’m not nearly as successful as I want to be, but I keep trying. I honestly believe that I am better for it.
CC
