Name: Oliver Nesov
Category: Undergraduate
Dr. Parker’s Quote: The Church
The Christian life is something more than noble ambition; it takes Christ to be a Christian.
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Essay:
It is undoubtfully true that a Christian life is more than a noble ambition, but just the desire to live a Christian life is not enough. The simplicity behind Dr. Parker's quote "It takes Christ to be a Christian" completely balances itself with the fundamental idea of becoming a Christian , which is to willingly make a choice and accept Christ. We also have to make changes in our lives as mentioned in (Cor 5:17) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new",which suggest in making a fresh start and abandoning things like materialistic-desires and flesh-driven lifestyle. Although this concept of making life changes seems fairly simple, especially during the moments when we accept Christ and feel the glow from within sinless conscience, we often feel discouraged and distant. I have friends that proudly express their Christianity and dedication to their church and the same adopt a lifestyle that contradicts the very principles on which their church was founded on in the first place. Therefore, I believe that joining a church is not like joining the local poetry-reading club. Its purpose is not to attend just to be seen or show off how Christian we are but to learn how to worship and be blessed. Living a Christian life is more than a noble ambition because it takes a complete dedication and discipline. For example, we all know that we need to be dedicated in something in order to get the right results, whether it is succeeding in mastering a skill or succeeding in our career. A good illustration of dedication can be found in (Cor. 10:5) "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ". In (Mat. 16:24) Jesus himself advised his disciples "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me", which clarifies that our dedication in Christ comes with a cost and that we should openly defend our faith. One good reason why I feel inspired by Dr. Parker's quote "It takes Christ to be a Christian" is because this quote reminds me of (Ish 64:6) "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away", which illustrates that no matter how much we succeed in life or career, without Christ in our life, our righteousness will never be fulfilled.
Sincerely,
Oliver.
