Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 14 July 2021 08:13

Blessings & Responsibilities Of Being A Christian
by Terry Broome

Most people have some events in life that take on special significance to them. These might vary from person to person. Some of the things that come to mind are: birth, graduation, landing a good job, marriage, children, and don’t forget, having grand children! But the most important event for anyone is that of becoming a Christian! Being a Christian not only affects us in this life, it affects each of us for all ETERNITY.
Unfortunately, some people become Christians and yet fail to fully appreciate what it should mean to them until late in life. Some never really catch on. Our service for Christ would be more productive and infinitely more enjoyable if we began to grasp the true significance of being Christians, and as such, being the children of God. Think of a few of the Blessings and Responsibilities we have as Christians.

Consider the blessing of having God as our Father, 1 John 3:1. He is the source of every good and perfect gift from above according to James 1:17; Matthew 7:11. He provides us comfort in all our afflictions – 2 Cor 1:3-4. He has promised never to forsake us – Hebrews 13:5-6.

Yet, there are responsibilities for any who claim God as Father. We certainly must SUBMIT to Him – James 4:7. We must also DRAW NEAR to God – James 4:8. Just as an earthly father delights when his children want to draw near to him, so does God – Matthew7. We draw nearer to God by “cleansing our hands” and “purifying our hearts” – James 4:8.

Equally so, there are blessings and corresponding responsibilities as Christians in having Jesus Christ as our faithful High Priest – Hebrew 14. Give some thought about this blessing. He who is our “Lord” is also He who rules over the kings of the earth – Revelation 1:5-6. While we are made subject to Him, yet He calls us His “brethren!” – Heb 2:11-12. If He is truly our LORD, we must do what He says. We must be careful to observe what He taught. We must keep His commandments. We must also utilize His role as our HIGH PRIEST – Hebrews 4:14-16. In other words, we must come to God through Him as our High Priest to obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

One other special blessing we should be able to enjoy as Christians is that of having the Church as our family – 1 Timothy 3:15. The members become like fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters to us, and in some cases may even replace physical relations we may lose when we become Christians – Mark 10:28-30; Matthew 12:46-50. Yet here too we have RESPONSIBILITIES to one another. We are to “edify one another” – Hebrews 10:24-25. We are to “bear one another’s burdens” – Galatians 2. This requires that we know each other well, and can be depended upon to provide support.
There are certainly many other blessings and responsibilities that we have as Christians. May we keep in mind that for every blessing there is a corresponding responsibility. I hope that these suffice to impress upon us just how blessed we are as Christians and how important it is that we fulfill our responsibilities – to God, Christ, and to One Another.
The author can be reached for comments at 256-574-2489.