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The Thinker

What practical difference does being a Christian make to your life and what do you do?

• I go to church. I pray. That is all. God has filled me with a love for his planet and his people which inspires my behaviour towards them. If I did not know he was the author of that love it would not alter my behaviour and I do not imagine I would fail any more or less often. If I catch myself acting out of fear of Hell or a desire for Heaven I instantly behave differently because such selfish motives make the action worthless to God and to me. Knowing He is there and what He has been through makes it easier not different.
• Someone you can depend upon even when your friends let you down. Someone to talk any problem you have through with no matter how embarrassing, because He already knows.
• Christianity has made me feel marginalised on more occasions than anything else in my life. It has led to arguments with other Christians as well as non-Christians, and to much time spent brooding over problematic issues. In short, it has made my life far more difficult than it could have been — but it is worth it.
• It gives you someone to pray to at exam time!!
• Sometimes I don’t punch people, even if I really, really want to …
• I pray.
• It makes me have greater integrity than non-Christians. It means that I always know that I am accountable (to God) for my actions, even when no one is looking.
• If you believe that He made each one of us, then He’s not going to deliberately ruin His own work by allowing us to come to any serious harm (without good reason) — a thought which helps you ‘carry on with life’ …
• An optimistic approach to life, the universe and essays.
• I go to church.
• It means I spend ages making up ‘Thinker’ responses for the world’s grooviest magazine! The Bible says that we have “died with Christ to the basic principles of this world” (Colossians 2:20). Practically, this means that our lives must be lived in the power of God, and not in our own strength.
• I have two Dads.
• Well, it definitely gets me up in the mornings. It’s incredibly difficult to know how you would react to everyday situations without your faith but I certainly know that I’d not have even attempted to do some of the things I seem to have got into following where God leads. My faith has completely shaped my life: the things I do; the opinions I hold; the way I spend my time. For me, like so many, belief has not changed me from something dramatically sordid like drug-pushing to preaching (so no entertaining testimonies here) but has radically altered who I am and who I will be. What practical difference has been made? My faith invades every aspect f my life — it’s all pervasive and truly revolutionary.

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Last modified: 25th November 2005