I don’t know how to say this more gently but…

Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t make you a big deal. It doesn’t mean God loves you more. It doesn’t give you extra clout. It doesn’t magically make you more deserving. It doesn’t make you more worthy of love than anyone else.

It’s Christ in you that sets you apart. Christ. Not you.

You do not accept Christ to be accepted by Him, He already loved you first. Before you even made one good decision, He loved you as His own. Instead, you accept Him because you need Him. You accept Him as your Saviour because He loves you. Not so that He will love you. He deeply desires companionship with you, but you’re the one who needs it. You need His direction. You need Him in order to be eternally saved. But never, ever forget that He loved you first, and that same truth goes for everyone else.

I think believing that to its core would change the way we interact with those who don’t share our beliefs. We would realize we’re not so different from each other. That we can all learn something from each other. We would be more aware of the fact that there’s nothing special about us at all, only something very, very special about Christ.

Let us not forget that we all came from the same place, are made and loved by the same God, and have all, every single one of us, been pursued by the same God, more than we could ever comprehend or make sense of.

If you have accepted Christ into your heart, praise the Lord. That’s amazing. That’s honestly the best news ever. That’s the most I would genuinely ever want for you, because Jesus is everything and more.

But, never forget where you came from. Don’t forget what He’s saved you from, and where you would be without Him. And if you’re not a believer, please know this: it’s a level playing field. Not one of us deserves the life, freedom, and peace that come from Jesus. It’s truly a gift equally available for all of us. We weren’t born with some special inheritance or security that you weren’t.

It doesn’t take a special type of person to have Christ as their Saviour, it’s a special kind of Saviour who loves us all with a special kind of love. It’s a special kind of Saviour who offers us all a special kind of grace, mercy, and redemption. And that right there, is what makes all the difference.

Does being a Christian involve commitment, self-denial, and sacrifice?

A thousand times yes.

But never first without Christ giving His loving sacrifice when we didn’t deserve it.

And that’s how we’re all still here in the first place.