WHAT IS A “GOOD CHRISTIAN”

I was recently reading an article by a preacher by the name of Francis Chan that really struck a cord with me. Here are some excerpts from that article and some of my thoughts included.

I think it's time we stop asking ourselves the question: "Am I a good Christian?" We live in a time when the term "Christian" has been so diluted that millions of immoral but nice people genuinely consider themselves "good Christians." We have reduced the idea of a good Christian to someone who believes in Jesus, loves his or her family, and attends church regularly. Others will label you a good Christian even though your life has no semblance to the way Christ spent His days on earth. Perhaps we should start asking the question: "Am I a good Christ?" In other words, do I look anything like Jesus? This question never even entered my mind until a friend of mine made a passing comment to me one day.

Dan is a long time friend of mine. In fact, he's the pastor who performed my wedding. He was talking to me about another pastor named Von. Von has been working with youth in the San Diego area for decades. Many of his students have gone on to become missionaries and powerful servants of God. Dan described a trip to Tijuana, Mexico, with Pastor Von. (Von has been ministering to the poor in the dumps of Tijuana for years.) Dan didn't speak of the awful living conditions of those who made their homes amidst the rubbish. What impacted Dan the most was the relationship he saw between Von and the people of this community. He spoke of the compassion, sacrifice, and love that he witnessed in Von's words and actions as he held these malnourished and un-bathed children. Then he made the statement that sent me reeling:

"The day I spent with Von was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." Dan explained that the whole experience was so eerie because he kept thinking to himself: "If Jesus were still walking on Earth in the flesh, this is what it would feel like to walk alongside of Him!"

After that discussion, I kept wondering if anyone had ever said that about me-"The day I spent with Francis was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." The answer was an obvious "no." Would any honest person say that about you?

What bothered me was not that I hadn't "arrived," but that I wasn't even heading in the right direction. I hadn't made it my goal to resemble Christ. I wasn't striving to become the kind of person who could be mistaken for Jesus Christ. Isn't it ironic that a man can be known as a successful pastor, speaker, and CHRISTian even if his life doesn't resemble Christ's?

In 1 John 2:6 it says, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” Are we living in obedience to that instruction of scripture, have we redefined what it means, or have we just ignored it altogether. It is more than a little disturbing isn’t it?

As Christians we are called to become more like Jesus every day. We should not just claim Jesus as our Savior, and then go back about our business, ignoring his instruction and commandments. Being a Christian is more than just trying to be a good person! Being a Christian is becoming more like Jesus!

Pray about these thoughts. Take them to heart, and hopefully we will become real disciples of Jesus Christ, and others will say about us, “The day I spent with (put your name here) was like walking with Jesus.”

Yours in Christ
Roger