I recently was asked to do a talk on ‘What is a Christian?’ I decided that, among other things, a Christian is like a  martian.

[pause for effect]

[pause longer for the penny to drop]

For those who have not quite got the message, it’s not because people think we are weird, have green skin or will suck people’s brains out. It’s about origins. Martians are called Martians because their origins are in Mars. We are Christians because our spiritual origins are in Christ.

What does that mean? It means we are adopted into his family. It means he is the source of our faith and salvation. It means that we owe him everything. 

How does that affect me? It should lead me to live with an attitude of gratitude. ‘Thank you’ ought to be near the top of my list of words in my praying. 

More ‘ian’s to follow…