We had been talking about Jesus when he asked me this question. At first, I thought he wanted to know what to do to become a Jesus follower. But that was not what he meant. He was concerned to know what following Jesus meant in terms of his daily lifestyle. He was convinced that Christians spent most of their time consulting a massive list of do’s and don’ts. That was his experience and he was wondering if that was how he would have to live.

I explained that being a Christian was not about following a long list of right and wrong actions. Instead, living a Christian life is about being in a relationship. The relationship with Jesus is what determines how you live your life. Christians act and think in certain ways because of our connection with a real and personal Savior. But he insisted I tell him what it meant in terms of life choices he would have to make every day. So here is what I told him: Three things.

  • Do what Jesus did. Treat people the way Jesus treated them. Connect to God like Jesus did. Live like Jesus lived. Walk in his steps.

  • Don’t do what Jesus did not do. Get the things out of your life that are not like Jesus. Eliminate wrong relationships, damaging attitudes, and hurtful actions. If Jesus would not be that way, don’t do it.

  • Tell everyone about Jesus. Share the story of what God has done thru Jesus. Tell how he has changed your life. Invite them into a relationship with him.

That’s it. That was my list. I told him that was exactly how I thought Christians decided how to live their lives. We make a series of choices every day based on the relationship we have with Jesus.

I assured him that he would get lots of help in figuring all this out. God left a book that has lots of examples about how to do this. Christians live in community as family to help each other live this way. And God gives His people His Holy Spirit to help them live these things out.

It is really not that complicated. I’d like to help you learn to live this way. Write me at steve@hopeforlife.org or join the blog discussion at www.hopeforlife.org.

(Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article. Contact us at info@hopeforlife.org)