Tell us about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ

I’ll be honest, this question makes me immediately think of a book like John Stott’s Why I Am a Christian.

Short: I have one, a real one, a Spirit-filled, daily, and deep one.

Longer: Like many people this relationship has evolved and matured over the years. But to me the important distinction is “Do you live life with a few Jesus sprinkles on top?” or “Do you actively pursue, nurture, and intentionally grow in relationship?”

If you appreciate Scott McKnight’s Jesus Creed (I do!), you’ll appreciate that knowing the Great Commandment and living are not always synonymous. It’s more than my morning devotions where I a) LOVE GOD by reading and praying on my own and then b) LOVE OTHERS read and pray for my daily podcast audience). Further, we’re not loving Jesus if we don’t keep his commandments to love others (Jn 14:15), and that happens in a host of intetional, interpersonal ways.

Longest: I’m not going to write a book here about “Why I Am a Christian,” but if I did it would necessarily include a nearly inexhaustible list of little things. By analogy, it’s like my relationship with my wife — you get to know someone in a way that changes you, enables you to finish each other's sentences, know what the other person values and how they’d make a decision, and on and on. I try to be a good bride THAT way for my Lord, Savior, and Husband, Jesus.