What does it mean to live a Christian life? The season of Epiphany calls us to deepen our understanding of this reality. It invites us to grow in our experience with the “God with us” and it calls us to live into the promise of God’s kingdom in our midst. If you read the New Testament it will not take you long to realize that the new life Christ offers stands in great contrast with the reality of the world. Jesus stook before a world where power, prestige, wealth, and dominance were important attributes and said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are those who mourn… Blessed are the meek… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the pure in heart… Blessed are the peacemakers… Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake…”[1] The way of Christ rejects the standards of the world and calls those who choose to follow him to embrace a new reality.

What does it mean to live a Christian life? Theologian Reinhard Hütter tells us that, “the Christian life, in its essence, is life with the triune God made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—a life of faith, hope, and charity, exercised in prayer, worship, and discipleship.”[2] In this one long sentence, Hütter quite accurately describes the reality of what it means to live a life of faith. I imagine that if I asked you to describe what it means to be a Christian some of these same words and concepts, used by Hütter, would be found in your description: prayer, worship, discipleship, hope, charity, the reality of Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the incarnation, the resurrection, and more. All these things rightly and properly describe aspects of life in Christ. But if I had to add something to help others understand the life we have been called to live, I would add the word choice. It may seem like an odd word to add, but “choice” is an essential part of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Jesus himself implied this when he said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”[3] Life in Christ is a choice. God’s Spirit indeed works in our lives, but we must respond.

Thomas Oden, the great Wesleyan Scholar, said, “It is no exaggeration to view human existence as deciding every moment toward the joy of eternal life or the despair of eternal emptiness.”[4] Each moment we live we are offered a choice to move and grow in Christ or wander in this world seeking to fulfill our selfish desires. The reality of Christ in the world frees us to live life in a new way. The Apostle Paul tells us “Christ has set us free for freedom.” In Christ, we have been released from all the barriers that prevent us from becoming the people God has created us to be. This is a life of invitation and choice. This is also a life that must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. When we choose to journey with God and open ourselves to receive God’s love, we also encounter a power beyond our own that transforms, supports, and sustains this new life.

There are few things our world needs more at this moment in time than individuals who are willing to embrace and faithfully live the reality of Christ. Though some continue to insist that a transformed nation will come about through force, political maneuvering, or policy implementation, our faith tells us that only transformed lives can transform the world. What would life be if “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” were the measure which use to elect government officials? You can say, “preacher you are too naïve.” But I believe God desires nothing less for our world. There is a certain resistance within our being that argues this reality is not possible. There is a certain resistance in the world that tells us that the way of violence, destruction, partisanship, and injustice is the way things are and will always be. People of faith are not immune to these