Living the Christian Life

Television, newspapers, and magazines present images and manifestations of Christians. History textbooks display many others. But all of those people and events, as well as the Christians at Columbia, fall short of revealing what being Christian really means. Jesus taught a message—the Gospel—which centers on love, compassion, grace, mercy, and humility. Yet so often the representations of Jesus’ followers are filled with narrow-mindedness, hatred, and oppression. Christians on this campus, and many other places around the country and the world, are trying to reverse the modern-day connotations of the title “Christian.”

The message of Jesus is our main focus as we strive to reflect His image in ourselves. Jesus loved people who hated Him, forgave those who condemned Him, accepted those who rejected Him, and even felt compassion for those who killed Him. The life of Jesus and the faith that has poured from it are what draw hundreds of people at Columbia to worship services, bible studies, morning prayer at the Sundial, or encouragement of friends and complete strangers in Butler.

Jesus said He came so that we “might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly.” Yet another misconception about Christianity is that it restricts its members. In reality, Christians experience an amazing freedom through their faith. This freedom presents itself in the abundant life that Jesus spoke of: a life of peace, humility, joy, self-control, love, and generosity—the “fruits of the spirit,” the tangible evidence of God’s presence in one’s life. Any person can attain the life that Jesus described and personified, which is the exclusive truth about Jesus that makes Christianity inclusive of all of humanity—and this truth transcends ethnicity, gender, background, sexual orientation, nationality, race, political affiliation, or whatever other box that we would like to place ourselves in. The story of Jesus and the lessons he left us are not about rules, but about creating a relationship with Him that shapes the way we, as Christians, create relationships with the rest of the world.

As a member of a Christian group on this campus, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, I was drawn to the ways in which the group loved people. Members of IVCF and other Christian groups at Columbia pray and are concerned not only for the well being of this University as an institution, but also for its students, professors, and staff. In the weeks leading up to this past Thanksgiving, about 65 students from several Christian groups and the Black Students Organization (BSO) united to serve meals to underprivileged families in the South Bronx, as well as going out into the community and sharing meals, stories, and their lives with homeless people they encountered. IVCF partnered with the aid organization WorldVision to reach out and make a difference in Gulu, Uganda. Between 2006 and 2007, IVCF students raised more than $40,000 in an effort to love this community that had been all but forgotten. These students worked hard and gave much of themselves in order to create awareness about a situation and give voices to the oppressed and downtrodden, mostly because they were trying to imitate the love Jesus demonstrated. Jesus loved widows, orphans, prostitutes, the diseased, and the crippled with such incredible compassion and kindness that one cannot help but want to go out into the world, or just down the street, and do the same.

The journey of a devout Christian through Columbia is probably not much different from that of a devout Muslim or Orthodox Jew, as far as the broader things we care about and are concerned with. But the difference lies in the fact that we have a personal relationship with Jesus, and this interaction is the fundamental element of Christianity that allows us to see Him as God, savior, friend, and father. He displayed the ultimate love for humanity by sacrificing himself so that we might live. The least we can and should do as followers of Jesus is to show the same love to those around us—whether they be people in our dorms, on the street, or on the other side of the world. The best way I can attempt to encapsulate what we believe as members of IVCF, but more importantly as Christians, is with 1st John 4:9-11: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” We do not always get things right as Christians, but we earnestly strive to care for the world around us to the best of our abilities and to demonstrate the love that Christ first showed us.

The author is a Columbia College senior majoring in African American studies.