I ride a motorcycle almost every day of
the week. It is my primary mode of transportation. I ride it to work and around
town. I am one of the few pastors who makes house and hospital visits wearing a
helmet and armored jacket. I ride a motorcycle and enjoy doing so very much,
but I am not a biker. I don’t work on my bike. I don’t read motorcycle
magazines. I am not part of a club. I spend very little time talking about
bikes or other models I might like to ride. I enjoy taking my sons to the
motorcycle shop and looking at the shiny new bikes, but that is always about
spending time with them. I never go alone. I ride a motorcycle, but riding it
does not define me.
On the other hand, I am a runner. I do
not currently run every day. Since moving to Arizona my weekly mileage has
dropped drastically; some weeks I do not run at all. But I am still a runner.
Why? Because running is an activity that defines me. Running is not simply what
I do; it is part of who I am. When I am not running, I often think about
running. When I finish a run, I am eager to run again. I read books and
magazines on running. I make notes about running. I talk to friends about
running. Even when I am injured or too busy to run, I am still a runner. It is
not just an activity; it is an identity.
For many people being a Christian is an
activity. They go to church on certain days of the week. They do religious
things like read the Bible or pray. They may even do these things every day.
But these are only activities; it is not their identity. Being a Christian is
something they do, not fundamentally who they are.
The Bible describes discipleship as an
identity, not an activity. True disciples will do certain things, but following
Jesus is not the sum of those activities; it is the passionate purpose of their
entire lives. Denying self, taking up the cross, and following Jesus is not a list
of tasks but the daily and defining rhythm of their existence.
Each of us would do well to meditate on
whether we follow Jesus or are Jesus-followers, whether Christianity is what we
practice or who we are. The latter always includes the former, but the reverse
is not true. Many who do religious things are not really disciples at all.
Religion is an activity, not their identity. Which is it for you? –JME
