Jesus is not a part of my life. Or at least I really hope not. I know it may sound crazy, but keep reading and you’ll see what I mean.

If Jesus were a part of my life, I would experience marvelous joy on Sunday mornings, but it would fade as soon as I walked out of the building.

If Jesus were a part of my life, I would cry out to Him when I am going through tough trials, but I would ignore Him when the waters are calm.

If Jesus were a part of my life, my words and actions around my Christian friends would be noble and encouraging, but it wouldn’t matter what I said or did with my non-Christian friends.

If Jesus were a part of my life, I may leave Him behind as I leave for college—it’s a new season, and no one is making me follow Jesus anymore, right?

But I don’t want Jesus to be a part of my life. I want Jesus to be my whole life.

I want to be aware of the presence of God in every moment. I want to communicate with my Father constantly. I want to shine the light of Jesus in both light places and dark places. Even if I am not doing something that directly is about Jesus, I want Him to be the focus.

This isn't about following all of the rules all the time and not being hypocrite.Because if it is, I fail. We all fail. I am not perfect by any means, and I miss the mark countless times every day.

It's hard to remember God's promises when you step out of church. It's hard to talk to Jesus when you see no need for Him because your life is fine. It’s hard to be intentional about making your words and actions pleasing to the Lord when no one else is. I know it will be hard to maintain my relationship with God in college when it’s only up to me to make time to grow closer to Him.

But it is so worth it. I know for me, my life is so much better when Jesus isn’t just a part of it. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” When we fall in love with Jesus, our lives are flipped upside down. We don’t just add something to our lives, we gain a whole new life!

Being a Christian is unlike anything else we do -- it affects every area of our lives. It shouldn’t be a killjoy that sucks all of the fun out of everything we do. Instead, when you invite Jesus into your whole life, he turns everything from black and white to color. I believe he smiles just as big when he sees us doing something we love as when we are talking about Him in church.

Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. When Jesus is our whole life, we feel whole.