I've heard Christians specifically and religious folk in general accused of being ready to swallow anything. If you have faith in God, they say, then you might as well believe in the flying spaghetti monster and the tooth fairy. We only want to read what we agree with and what reinforces our beliefs. I won't disagree with that. It's hard to leave your comfort zone. I'd level that accusation at people in general though. It's my considered opinion that even the non-religious amongst us are eager to grasp at whatever comforts them. I don't know anyone that's truly a "free-thinker" unswayed by the opinions of those around them or those that they hold in esteem.

Getting back to what it means to be a Christian though, the word is only used three times in the NIV. It means, simply enough, follower of Christ. It's there that the whole thing gets a little tricksy, I think the best examples we have of Christians are the apostles. Time has caused them to be elevated by some to sainthood, reverence accreted by years of tradition. If you look at the gospels though they were human just as you and I are. They had doubts and while Jesus did say "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed", he did not cast doubters out from his presence. They misunderstood him, argued with each other, and acted impulsively. They also tried very hard to be like him. They tried to love their fellow man. They tried to love God. They weren't always successful, but they made the effort.

Their opinions on the things of this world were different. Their reactions to the situations that their faith put them in were different. I've no doubt that if they were alive today we'd see them all over the map in terms of their politics, amount of skepticism, and view of people in general. In short they were (and are) a microcosm of the church.

So the fundamental question for me is, do I trust Christ enough to follow him? Wrapped up in that are more questions. Do I trust that he said what the Bible says he did? Am I willing to go wherever it is that that takes me no matter how scary that may be? Am I willing to let myself and others fail and receive the grace that comes with that failure? Am I willing to say that I don't have all of the answers and never will? All of those and more, enough to fill a rather large book. I can say yes. I'm willing to follow Christ. How about you?