Truly Christian

Do you believe the story told in the bible that Jesus calmed the troubled seas when the storm was so terrifyingly bad that fisherman who are accustomed to storms were terrified?  If you are Christian, I assume you believe the account.  Do you ever feel like the disciples, where you are terrified of your situation, and you can't see how you can possibly recover, and escape from your situation? 37  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,  a Peace , be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great  b calm . 40  And he said unto them, Why are ye so  a fearful ? how is it that ye have no  b faith ? 41  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, ...

What does it mean to be truly Christian?  Does it mean you have to dedicate 20 hours a week to service?  Does it mean you have to serve the poor in India like Mother Teresa?  Does it mean you have to preach the gospel to others as a missionary? My opinion, and I'd love to hear if someone feels different, the requirements for counting yourself a Christian are: 1) You believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, and that He is the Son of God.  That He came into this world to save it, and it is only through him that we can be saved. 2) You have to try to follow Him. That's it.  You believe (#1), and you continually try to follow him (#2).  I say try because we will all at times find we are not following him, and we need to get back on track.  But if you are constantly trying to follow his teachings, and continually trying to be better, then I believe that is all that is required for #2. There is an argument to be made that "by their fr...