What Does it Mean to be a Good Christian?

I find that often Christians get into this rut, thinking that they are not living a Godly life because they are not missionaries/pastors/priests/nuns etc. It seems like these vocations are revered among Christians and are used as examples as something to aspire to if one wants to be a "good Christian". While these ministries are indeed admirable, I don't believe that the rest of us have to feel like outsiders or inferiors just because we work a 9-5 job and haven't felt called to do otherwise.

We have all received the same commandments. The "Big Ten" to live by, and the "Greatest Commandments" given by Jesus to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV). 


Likewise, we have all been given the same calling to  "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 18:19 NIV).


At this point in history, nearly--if not all--nations have heard about Jesus and of our God of the Bible. While it is still important to go out and teach those in the remote corners of the earth who have not heard, not every Christian is called to to those remote corners. "All nations" includes our own. We have just as much of an obligation to our grumpy next-door neighbor as we do to an Amazonian tribesman.


I have always had this feeling that people I see everyday are often more deprived of the Truth than those live completely ignorant of Christianity. If a person has never heard the Bible before, they only need to process the Truth as they hear it. Here, people have heard so many versions of the "truth" that they have become confused and, as a result, hostile towards it. So much so that "witnessing", in the traditional sense of the word, has been rendered useless.

Here we do not win people over to Christ by reading and explaining the Bible to them. No, here we win people to Christ by living a life of Love. This can be so difficult at times! We are imperfect people... we mess up just like anyone else... the problem is, people watch us when we mess up. The use it as a reason not to believe. We're hypocrites. We're no better than them! How can our "truth" be better than anyone else's then?

But everyone is missing the point. The point is that, yeah, we aren't any better than them. But when we turn to God to help us out... amazing things happen. We apologize when we mess up. We forgive people for doing terrible things to us. We help people when there's nothing in it for us. We love people who are annoying/mean/weird/different. I know I am certainly not perfect. I know that I am prideful and selfish... and if I indulge in my sinful nature, I will never know what it's like to be a "good Christian"--to show people the Truth.  Becoming a missionary or going to seminary won't make me any better of a Christian either. I need to focus on God and let Him work miracles in me.

Baby steps. This Stumbler may be unsteady on her feet, but if I take baby steps in the right direction, it won't be long before I look back and see just how much progress I've made. I don't need to have grandiose notions of what it means to be a good Christian. I'll never get anywhere if I think that I must jump over mountains in a single bound... but I'll make amazing progress if I take it step-by-step.

In writing this blog, I am reminded of a classic hymn. The course states:

They will know we are Christians by our love

Christian life comes down to this. Love. Not logic or reasoning. Not perfectionism. Not religious piety. Not politics or debate. Whether we are missionaries abroad, pastors in a local church, blue-collar workers, or white-collar 9-5ers... we accomplish God's will in our lives by living a life of Love. We're not going to "convert" our friends, family and co-workers by hounding them or beating them over the head with a Bible. However, we may soften their hearts enough to listen to our story if we love them in a way they've never been loved before. Not Hollywood love. Not selfish love. Not fleeting "emotional" love. We need to strive to love those around us with an unconditional, selfless, forgiving love that is unlike anything the secular world has ever known. A love that is only possible through Divine intervention.

It's not just tough to do. It's impossible. That's how they'll know that our God is the real deal. No person could love like this by depending on their own strength and willpower. Only a person with something truly special--like an intimate relationship with a God and Saviour; a Divine Spirit within them--could accomplish such a feat.