How Serious Should I Be?

   How serious should I be about being a Christian and living a faithful Christian life?  Well, how serious should I be about living eternally with God and Christ in Heaven?  How serious is it to contemplate an eternity in the torments of Hell?  How serious is the sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross for the debt of my sin (Rom. 5:8)?  How serious is death, since the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23)?  How serious is it for the church to be identified as the body of Christ (Col. 1:18)?  How serious is it for me to wear Christ’s name as I call myself a “Christian” (Acts 11:26)?

   How serious is it to understand the Bible as being God’s word communicated to me through inspired writers guided by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)?  How serious is it to understand that I am created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27)?  How serious is it to know that when I became a Christian God adopted me as one of His children (Rom. 8:14-16)?  How serious is the concept of God’s grace being extended to me (Eph. 2:8-9)?  How serious is the divine love that sent Christ to this earth to be my Savior that provides the example of what love should be in me (1 Jn. 4:10-11)?
   How serious is it to realize that without what Christianity represents I would be absolutely without hope in this life (Eph. 2:12)?  How serious is it to know that I can actually talk to God through prayer and that He will listen to me because I am a Christian (1 Jn. 5:14-15)?  How serious is it to be assured of God’s presence and care in my life, as long as I remain faithful to Him (Jas. 4:7-8)?  How serious is it to be blessed with all of the blessings which God has showered upon me (Eph. 1:3)?  How serious is it to know that my fellow Christians are actually my brothers and sisters, my spiritual family (1 Pet. 2:9-10)?
   How serious is it to realize that God has entrusted me with the proclamation of the gospel message of salvation (Mk. 16:15-16)?  How serious is it to understand that my sharing that message with another soul can make the difference as to whether or not that soul will spend eternity in Heaven (Rom. 1:16)?  How serious is it to read Jesus’ words describing me to be, through my Christian example, “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14-16)?  How serious is it to know that I should live my life in such a way as to bring God glory?  How serious is it to read in God’s word that my body is the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19)?  How serious is it to understand that I cannot truly love the Lord without obeying Him (Jn. 14:15)? 
   How serious is it to know, without a doubt, that this world is only temporary, that one day it will be destroyed by fire (2 Pet. 3:10)?  How serious is the knowledge that there will be a day of final judgment and that on that day I will have to personally give account to my Lord for the way I have lived my life on this earth (2 Cor. 5:10)?  How serious is it to realize that most people who live in this world will be eternally lost (Matt. 7:13-14)?
   How serious should I be about being a Christian?  It is the most serious thing in my life!  May God grant me the wisdom to always realize how serious, how important it is to be a Christian...