In 1927, the famed British philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote an essay entitled, “Why I Am Not a Christian.” Russell’s essay inspired the title of this article: 12 reasons I am a Christian. By “Christian,” I mean someone who has trusted their life to Jesus Christ as Crucified Savior and Resurrected Lord and seeks to follow Him each day. (I’m keenly aware that the term “Christian” has been hijacked to mean different things, hence the need to define.)
Three things to keep in mind about this list:
1) This isn’t a list of theological reasons I am a Christian (e.g., God chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world and the Holy Spirit revealed Christ to my heart).
2) This isn’t a list of why I am indebted to Jesus (He owns me; He bought me with His blood; He died for my sins, etc.). Instead, they are intellectual/emotional/experiential reasons why I trust in and follow Jesus.
3) This isn’t an exhaustive list (I can certainly list more reasons I am a Christian), and it doesn’t reflect any particular order or priority.
At the end of the list, I have a question for readers who aren’t following Jesus at the present time. And I’m really looking forward to hearing what they have to say.
12 Reasons I am a Christian
1. Because life makes no sense to me apart from Christ. Nor does it have any purpose.
2. Because I’ve tried to not believe in Jesus, and I find that I cannot.
Perhaps this is why the early Christians were called “believers.” We believe for reasons that we cannot naturally explain. We believe because we believe. I have certainly struggled with various doubts along the way and questioned why God does and doesn’t do certain things, but that’s a different issue.)
