Leadership

I am the head of my household. God said so. So, my wife and I submit to God and play by His rules…as best we can.

I didn’t always agree with God on this issue. I believed the role of the head of the household was to be shared/shouldered equally by both my wife and me. To my surprise, my wife set me straight on this issue.

She told me, “There cannot be two Captains of the same ship.” It does not serve to have two Captains, but one Captain and one First Officer is a proven formula.

I know what some folks are probably asking: “Why not make her Captain?” Refer to the opening statement referencing our submission to God…then read the Bible.

As Captain of the USS Marriage, I first trust in my God, then I work with and rely on my First Officer, and I pledge my very life to the wellbeing of the ship, the crew, and any personnel we pick up along the way (that’s children for the slow readers). My First Officer pledges to first trust in God and to follow and support my leadership for the wellbeing of the ship, the crew, and any personnel we pick up along the way.

It takes a lot of sacrifice and a lot of trust from both of us, and there is no room for either of us to doubt the commitment or effort of the other.

What Is A Christian? (Part II)

In “Part I,” we succinctly covered what a Christian is: a person who is reconciled to God by grace alone. In this installment we will cover what a Christian isn’t.

Generally, two parts must be considered with regards to what a Christian is: God’s part (grace), man’s part (faith). Often a third part comes into play: man’s actions (works). We often get really hung up on man’s actions or behavior. We see with our eyes what man does (works) and we jump to conclusions about …some might say “we judge”…what is or isn’t in his heart (faith). Here’s where we segue over to what a Christian isn’t.

First, there are two versions of this question: what is not a Christian; what is a Christian not? The former is answered when we examine our findings from part I; a person who is not reconciled to God by grace alone. Simple. The answer to the latter is not so simple. Similar to the issue of what a Christian is, it breaks down into God’s part and man’s part, but gets hung up on man’s works.

Why do we get so hung up on works? Why are we always trying to label behavior as Christian or non-Christian? We see with our eyes man’s works, and we judge his heart…his faith. We are not to judge. We are not Judge.

Notice, I did not say “Christians are not judge.” “We” throughout the paragraph above refers to all of mankind: God is the judge of us all (even those who don’t believe He is). God loves us all equally and will judge us all wisely, justly, and perfectly by the same standard according to His grace. If a person is reconciled to God by grace alone, they will freely submit their life to His holy judgment and in the time of judgment when all of mankind will submit (for He is God), they will be saved; that person is a Christian.

Only God can see past the works and into the heart; God knows…and only God knows. Maybe that’s why the real answers to questions about Christians come from God, and they reveal more about God than man.

May the Lord reveal more of His holiness to me and through me; for His glory. Amen.