Christian is a word that envelopes a whole lot of different kinds of people. Here at Calvin, many of those people can be found. We may have a lot in common because of our religion, but there are some things we do not have in common.

There are different denominations, and among those there are liberals and conservatives. There are those who accept all lifestyles, who say “everyone is loved.” And there are those who might say “I love you, but I cannot agree to how you live.” That is what we, here on the earth, might say. What we say is what we believe God would have us say. We all have our reasons, our verses, our proofs and arguments. I don’t want to get into those.

I want to think about who God is to each of us. What does he allow in your life, how close are you to him? God is with us in each and every aspect in our life; he sees what we do, hears what we say and knows what we think. Does that affect how each of us live? Does the God I worship allow the same things in my life as the God you worship?

I am conservative. I am not afraid to say that. I go to church twice every Sunday because I believe that is what God requires of me. Do I believe that you are less than me if you do not? No. I believe that God has called you to something different than me. Or perhaps you are answering His call differently than I am.

I change the radio station when I hear a song about sex or lust. It is my opinion that every Christian should do the same. Do they? I know they do not. And it makes me wonder, what is God to those people? I know that there are some who listen to music that I would never listen to, and they are still so well versed in the Bible and know so much about God. I can tell that those who live differently than I do still know God as well, or maybe even better.

And I ask myself, is our God the same? Or do I worship a God that is not as lenient as theirs? Is it possible that there can be so many forms of worship, in which many are in disagreement with one another, and they all please the same God? Before coming to Calvin I might have said no. But now, having talked with so many different people of so many different backgrounds, and having seen their love for God come out in ways so different from mine, my answer has changed.

I still have the opinion that there are those who know God, but do not live a life that is pleasing to him. So I ask you to ask yourself, if Jesus were physically by your side everyday, would you be living the life you live right now? Would he be silent by your side if you continued to do the things you do? Because we do believe that God is by our side everyday. he might not be physical but he is there, and yet our lives don’t always show that we believe that. I am not excluding myself from that category.

We are Christ-ians. His name is in the very title that defines us. As such he should be in every moment that we live. As totally depraved humans, though, that is something that we find extremely difficult, but that is no excuse not to try.

So I challenge you to ask yourself these questions: Who is God to you? How much does he affect the way you live? How much might your life please him now?