Who is a Christian? [Part 3]

It used to be common for preachers to ask, "If being Christian were illegal, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"  What, in the end, would clearly identify anybody as Christian?

Conclusions so far in this series:

• Being a lover of God and of one's neighbor as oneself is not a sufficient condition to define whether a person is a Christian. It's necessary, but not sufficient.
• We can't assume that those who call themselves Christian are, in fact, Christian. Christian identity is not particularly relevant.

Brian McLaren has a very good piece on the "God's Politics" blog at Sojourners (http://sojo.net/blogs/2015/03/04/7-ways-live-faithful-life), titled "7 Ways to Live a Faithful Life". He enumerates seven behaviors that really ought to follow directly from a person's faith as a Christian. Please go read it. It's important.

But it still doesn't answer the question.

It falls under point 1 above. Based on other things Brian has written, I'm sure he'd be the first to agree that these seven behaviors would probably also follow from a person's faith as a Buddhist, Jew, or Muslim. If you're a Christian, you're likely doing these things. But others do them as well.

I think, though, that we might get very close to an answer if we look at these words from Jesus:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35, NIV).

Recall that he had already noted two important commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. This one sounds a lot like the second commandment, but Jesus says it's new. How?

Perhaps the explanation can be seen in what Paul wrote: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:9-10).

There's something special about doing good for other Christians.

I think the answer is in Paul's use of the word "family" (or "household" in other translations). Being a Christian, following God in what McLaren calls "the way of Christ", involves recognizing a special kinship with other believers.

But isn't that just what point 2 above said was not sufficient?  Not really. A great many people identify themselves as Christian but feel no special kinship with other Christians. They identify without investing. The key is to invest, without regard to identity, but because of whom we follow. We inevitably develop identity from that investment, but the key is the investment: Invest your wealth, your energy, your life in actively loving all of the others of the family of believers -- or, at least, all of them that you come in contact with.

This doesn't mean that you shake hands during the sixty seconds of programmed fellowship in your Sunday morning church service. It means to share your life with other believers, acknowledging that you're part of a family, and acting accordingly.

Do that, and anybody could convict you of being a Christian.