Don't miss the point I'm making here...

This morning President Obama spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast. He spoke of his own faith and his conversion to Christianity. He said,

"I didn't become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck - no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God's spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose - His purpose." (Full text of comments here.)

I share this quote not to convince you that his conversion is real and that he is a bonafide follower of Jesus Christ. If anything, I found his comments generic and tragically missing the idea of surrender to the leadership of Jesus and the acceptance of His forgiveness. My point in sharing this is to emphasize the factor that led to what he calls his conversion. It was the action demonstrated by those who were followers of Jesus. We have to realize that conversion is not a mental process that takes place within the four walls of the church. It is a change of heart that comes from seeing the reality of believers who live lives of surrender to Jesus. Far too often we tend to major on arguments and minor on basic obedience and love for people,

"... no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to..."

Can we please, instead of arguing about whether Obama is a "true believer" or not, just begin to live as true believers ourselves? We might be surprised what happens when our lives speak the truth to all around us. After all, didn't Jesus say,

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (Jn. 13:35)?

Is President Obama a Christian? I have no clue. Only God knows the state of his heart. But that doesn't change God's call to me - I need to love the world...just as He does, even when it hurts, even when it costs. Jesus wants me to surrender to Him and follow His example. That's the point.