What is a Staunch Christian?

Not long ago, Why I Converted to Islam appeared on the internet. The article, written by a female journalist, explains the author’s conversion to Islam. Her story began in Malaysia where she went for a student exchange program. Her curiosity into Islam began with the pretty South-East Asian Muslim girls with colorful hijabs and clothes. Later, as she researched for an article on Muslim women’s rights, she found her mind suddenly bursting with knowledge about Islam and the fact that women had many rights in Islam. The first time she stepped into a mosque she experienced an immediate sense of calm and peace. Over a year later, she converted to Islam.

I do not question the author’s experiences in Malaysia. I am sure that the Muslim girls were beautiful and that they seemed to have many rights in their Muslim faith. I can understand that she somehow found a calm and peace when she entered a mosque. However, I do wonder at some of the claims that she makes in her story.  She writes that her life as a staunch Christian was a focal point of her faith journey. She also shares that her love for Jesus actually led her to Islam and that she read her Bible inside out. Because I am a Christian who loves Jesus and has read the Bible extensively, I question these claims.      

By definition, a staunch Christian is a devoted follower of Christ, one who has fully accepted Jesus’ claims of Himself. A Christian is one who steadfastly loves the Lord Jesus Christ and believes that the Bible is a book that declares Him on every page. In John 14 Jesus told His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” In the same encounter He told them, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?” A true Christian fully accepts these truths and believes that the Lord Jesus is God and that He is to be worshipped as God. Christianity cannot be the focal point of a religion that denies the deity of Christ nor can love for Jesus lead one to acceptance of a faith that refers to Him as a prophet who is not to be worshipped as God.

As I consider the claims of this author and the definition of a staunch Christian who loves Jesus, I wonder how many miss the truth of what it means to be a devoted follower of Christ. I wonder how many enter our churches, maybe even every Sunday, and miss the true meaning of why we worship the Lord Jesus as we do. I wonder how many mistakenly see themselves as staunch Christians only to be led to another religion that denies the claims of Christ. I wonder how many love a Jesus that they do not really know or how many read God’s Word without really understanding the truths they encounter in its pages. I pray that God’s Word would be clearly spoken in our churches and by those who believe. I pray that hearts would be open to the truths that are read or heard and that Christianity would teach us to love and understand God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ more fully so that we might worship Him as we ought. As Christians, we do learn compassion, mercy, and love, but most importantly we grow to know Him more fully because He is the focal point of Christianity.