I am using John Wesley’s Holy Club examen questions to examine my own life.

22) Is Christ real to me?

Yes. Mostly. I believe mostly in the man Jesus. A good man. A godly man. I’m not sure about the divinity piece. That might be something I just don’t understand. I’m intrigued by the notion that God would take human form. I know it was a common trope in Greek/Roman mythology. And I’m intrigued by the mythos around Jesus in particular. But I mostly just find life and meaning in the teachings. Those are very real to me. When I say I’m following Jesus, I mostly mean that I’m listening to his teachings and trying to do them in my life. Take, for example, Matthew 25 the parable of the sheep and goats. It’s pretty clear that it’s better to be a sheep than a goat. The details of the story include the fact that God himself is in the poor, the naked, the hungry, the Imprisoned. It follows the Greek/Roman trope. It also puts the onus on us to be merciful. “Who was the neighbor to the one who was beaten and love for dead? The one who showed mercy. Go and do likewise.” Or from Isaiah 58: “Is not this the fast that I choose to loosen the bonds of injustice, to undo the things of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread
with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” I love the way that reads. The hungry, the homeless poor… they are family. Jesus seemed to treat them as kin. And kindness is extending family love to another. So then, is Christ real to me? Only insofar as I am kind to the downtrodden. The goal is to be Christ-like at every moment of every day. I’m not there yet by any means. But it is my true and highest goal.