Recently I was talking with a teacher. She said something that I really liked. She said that she was "a Christian who happens to be a teacher." Often we hear of a teacher who is a Christian. She saw it the other way around. The Kingdom of God — honoring the King of that Kingdom — was first. (Matthew 6:33) This was her perspective of herself and her purpose.

For many people, it seems like being a Christian, attending Church and serving the Lord, is a kind of optional thing that they do occasionally, if they have time. It is really refreshing to hear someone speak of her dedication to Christ as being the most important thing in her life — the one thing that encompasses everything else she does.

I believe we should all ask ourselves, "Which ... what ... who ... is first?" Is it Jesus and His Kingdom? Or do we identify ourselves with something else and then tack on, "and a Christian" after it.

Is being a Christian your number one sense of identity.
How do other people perceive you? Do they see you and the way you live your life as a demonstration that you are a Christian first? Do they know you as a Kingdom person? Is being a Christian your number one sense of identity. Jesus Christ and his kingdom must be first and central in our lives.

In his book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren starts off by asking this question: "What on Earth Am I Here For?" Our number one reason for being here on the earth is to fulfill the Lord's purposes for our lives. So when we look at our own identity, or think about how someone else sees us, let's be sure, with no doubt about it, obvious to everyone: Jesus is first and we are here to fulfill his purposes for our lives. We should all be able to say, "I am a Christian who happens to be ... !"