Actor, comedian, and podcast host Russell Brand recently released a very interesting video on social media in which he spoke about why he wears a cross. During that video, he spoke about how he is increasingly finding Christianity and Christ important in his life, and said that as he has grown older he has started desiring a more personal relationship with God.
Speaking about that in the video, Brand, once regarded as an incorrigible hedonist but who appears to have changed as he has become a deeper thinker, said, “The reason I wear a cross is because Christianity, and in particular, that figure of Christ, it seems to me inevitably becoming more important as I become more familiar with suffering, purpose, self, and not self.”
Continuing, he explained how he’s now exploring religion and why he shied away from it as a young man, saying, “Reading the Bible a lot more than as I’ve told you before. I’m reading Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. When I grew up, Christianity seemed like it was either really irrelevant and old-fashioned and sort of dusty and sort of incense watered, or, or they tried to modernize it. And it seems just like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna talk about Jesus.’ And like, both of those roots seem like, I don’t know if there’s anything for me.”
He then explained why his thoughts on the matter started to shift, saying, “And I suppose it takes a certain amount of adulthood and it might be different for all of us. For me, it seems that it’s taken quite a lot to recognize that you need I need a personal relationship with God, it occurred to me that if instead of always talking to myself, inwardly, I could replace one of those voices with an indwelling God.”
Continuing, Brand then spoke about a verse he finds particularly powerful and helped him on his faith journey, saying that it “says in Galatians, it is our job to die so that as Christ died on the cross, he might be reborn in us. I’m very interested to hear what you think because for me, my heart is open.”
There, Brand appears to have been referencing Galatians 2:20, which provides, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Watch Brand here:
The video drew the attention of numerous high-profile Christians. For example, Pastor Greg Laurie said, “Hi Russell- I love what you have to say in this video! We have never met, but I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Greg Laurie and my life was radically changed by Jesus Christ. I like you was put off by Christians at first, but then I heard the Gospel message.”
Pastor Laurie continued, “The word “Gospel” means “ Good news. We are all sinners and we have broken God’s commandments and fallen short of His standards. But the good news is that God loved us so much He sent His only son to die on the cross for our sins and then rise from the dead. Jesus is alive and ready to come into your life, Russell! He is just a prayer away.”
Pastor Laurie then gave an example of how Brand could pray to further his relationship with God, saying, “You might pray something like this. .’Lord Jesus, I want to have a personal relationship with you. I know I am a sinner and I believe you died on the cross from my sins. I turn from those sins and put my faith in you right now to be my Lord and savior, my God and friend. Thanks for hearing this prayer. In Jesus name I pray, amen'”
Similarly, Gen. Flynn said, “An important phrase I learned from the time I was a child: The older I get the smarter my father becomes. My faith is like that. The older I’ve gotten the stronger my faith has become. Thanks for sharing this.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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