What is the point of being a Christian?
That’s not a trick question or a sarcastic one. It’s genuine and important and worth repeating. So really...
What is the point of being a Christian?
Without a shadow of a doubt, there will be people out there who can state the answer more eloquently. But considering the topic of this blog post, I’ll take a try at it anyway.
The point of being a Christian is to have a close, comforting, contagious relationship with God – one that fills and fulfills us while inspiring those we come in contact with.
Naturally, that can be a tall order, particularly when life gets difficult. Which it has a habit of doing.
It’s also a tall order when God is so unfathomable in so many ways. The Bible admits as much over and over and over again. Consider Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV):
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Romans 11:33 (NIV) says:
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
And the entire book of Job can be summed up as essentially proclaiming that we’re dirt compared to God. Dirt he cares about very, very much for some reason. But dirt nonetheless.
As such, there’s only so much we’re going to be able to understand down here on Earth. We’re limited human beings for the time being.
Even so, we’re so much more than welcome to try to understand as much as we can. Continuously searching is part and parcel of our mission to have that close, comforting, contagious relationship with God.
That’s why reading or writing a Bible study book can be so helpful.
Bible Study Book:
This writing category clearly falls into the Christian nonfiction genre. But it’s still popular and important enough to warrant its own mention.
Bible studies are meant to help Christians grow in their faith by giving them guided steps to delve into God’s Word. These steps can focus on appreciating the whole entire Bible; certain books such as Psalms, Revelation or Isaiah; or specific subjects such as dealing with grief, understanding God’s love for us, or submitting to God’s righteous plan for our lives.
Now, before we delve any deeper into how to write a Bible study book, it’s best to make a distinction. There is a major difference between a Bible study book and a Bible study plan.
A Bible study plan is simply a list of passages to read per specific day. These are great for anyone wanting to do an independent read-through. But they’re hardly guided analyses.
When you write a Bible study book however, make no mistake. You’re writing a book, not just listing verses. You’re giving details about those verses such as:
Historical insights
Cross-Scriptural context
Religious comparisons
Common misunderstandings
Cultural delineations.
Those details are meant to give readers a greater grasp of what the Bible passages in question are saying. In the end, this is all to better answer that original question we posed: "What is the point of being a Christian?"
It's all to better point to our original conclusion…
To have a close, comforting, contagious relationship with God – one that fills and fulfills us while inspiring those we come in contact with.