We must each individually receive Jesus Christ
Christianity is deeply about community.   But it is community built of upon a particular conviction.  It is made up of individuals who have personally decided to follow Jesus - regardless of what nation or denomination or church they belong to.   We have a deeper relationship with each other because each of us has a relationship with God.   I must be willing to make Jesus my Savior and Lord; then I can know and experience God's love and leading in my life.   Any meaningful relationship requires that both people commit to the other.  God is already committed to you, but you have to decide if you are willing to be committed to God.   I can't be good enough to win God's love - God already loves me.  The question is - will I love God back ? 

•   We Must Receive Christ    
  Imagine someone is standing at your door.  You have to decide whether you are willing to receive them - that is, are you willing to let them come into your home.  The ancient Christian scriptures say:  "As many as received Jesus, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)
   
•  We Receive Christ Through Faith
  Faith means trusting the other person, like when I say "I am putting my faith in you."  If you are rock climbing you need to have faith in the person holding the other end of the rope.  You won't be willing to jump unless you really trust that the other person has the strength, the wisdom, and the character to save you.  The ancient Christian scriptures say:
  "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

•   We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
  We have to choose if we trust the person at the door enough to let them in to our homes.  We have to decide if we trust Jesus enough to let him into our hearts.  In the ancient Christian scriptures Jesus says:
   "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Christ involves turning to God and away from my own pride and self-sufficiency  (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into my life to forgive my sins and to make me the person I was always meant to be.  Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.   See the diagram below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, the diagram above is a little retro, but here's the idea: The two circles above represent two kinds of lives...

Which circle best describes your life?

Which circle would you like to have represent your life?

 

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