Prayer and reading the Bible is a necessity for a Christian. This is what connects us to God. But what God wants is also that we are connected to the body of Christ, and that is more than attending church on Sunday.
Are you a believer or a Christian? A Christian is for sure a believer, but a believer is not necessarily a Christian. What’s the difference?
A believer is someone who, as its name says, believes that a superior force exists and that one must be respectful towards that entity. To demonstrate respect, the believer can follow all kinds of rules that they believe to be a commandment of God. Rules that often they heard when they were young or in any religious encounter. At a minimum, the believer will pray occasionally and be present at a church or other once in a while.
The word “Christian” in Greek means “being a disciple of Christ”. The apostle Paul even described it as being part of the Body of Christ. A Christian is, therefore, someone who not only believes in God but who gave their life to Christ and who now lets Christ live through them. They listen to the Holy Spirit so that their actions are in line with the will of God. They are ready to give up all actions that displease God and engages in work that advances the Kingdom of God.
A believer can see Jesus as their Savior, the one who takes them out of hardships. A Christian sees Jesus as their Lord. But the Christian goes even further. They are no longer the master of their life, they have given full control to Jesus. It is important to be aware of our position toward Christ because the consequences are eternal. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10.9 NKJV). The verse says that it is when Jesus is our Lord that we are saved.
A Christian can’t be a Christian only in words. They give their life to Christ and Jesus uses this life to grow the Kingdom of God. True faith is therefore demonstrated by our actions. “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18 NKJV). There is no question here that doing all kinds of good deeds gives us a good conscience. What God wants is for us to be attentive to His Spirit and to be ready to do what He desires and stop doing what displeases Him. If we are Christians, we are the body of Christ and so Jesus should be able to do His will through us.
What does this have to do with finding a partner, for someone Single?
Recently, on our Facebook page, we published a surprising quote. Using Statistics Canada data we found the percentage of single people in the country and the percentage of evangelical Christians (Baptists, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, etc.). We were able to conclude that there would be possibly 2.5 million Christian singles in Canada (and 100,000 in Quebec). This surprised many singles - where are they?! Often, Christian singles complain that there is no one “to their liking” in their local church and they are then tempted to turn to the world. Because they don’t see any in their local church, they conclude that there is none. But statistics show the opposite! So where are they?
They are at the grocery store, the gym, at their job, in the buses and schools. If you, as Christians come out of your house occasionally, it means that other Christians do so too. So, how to recognize them? By acting like a Christian! “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13.35 NKJV). Does everyone at your work know that you are Christian according to your actions? Are you a different customer at the grocery store because of your respect and the love you show to others? What would Christ do on the bus?
If we let Christ’s life take control of our actions, we will undoubtedly be different, we will stand out, and we will be able to find other singles who share the same heart that we do outside our church. Do not wait for other Christians to identify themselves, start by showing your identity yourself. Not only will this help you, but it will also prove that you are saved to an unsaved world.