What does it mean to be a believer in Christ? Should we follow the example that he set before us?

A song that has resonated with us in the past year or so, is certainly still speaking to us today…..

I am paying close attention to this stanza:

’cause my Jesus bled and died

He spent his time with thieves and liars

He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant

So which one do you want to be?

If this is true, and I believe that it is, how can we ever push to have our rights validated? How can we seek to be correct in everything? How can we seek our own purposes?

When there are so many people in this world that are crying out to just be loved, how can I turn my back on them? No matter what their sin…..they still are loved by God. They do matter to Him. How can I love them any less?

My prayer is that I would never get to a point of being looked at by God as arrogant and self serving—may I always be open to loving whomever is placed in my path and that I would do so by the example of My Jesus.

Listening to the radio this morning, I heard a familiar song, one that I hadn’t heard in quite a while. As I concentrated on the lyrics, I was reminded of how fragile life can be. I was also reminded that without a relationship with Christ, how lost we are….and how confusing and difficult this world can be to us. Thank God for His grace and his love that is with us at all times. What an incredible gift….may we live each day basking in His love for us.

My, it has been a while since I have written here! Life has certainly gotten busy and I am finding my time just slipping through my fingers. We are in the process of adopting a beautiful little girl, which you can read about here and I am entering the end of my time in the school system. After the month of May, I will be walking a little bit lighter and how good that will feel!! Until then, I will sprinkle my sporadic thoughts here and there.

There are some thoughts that I would like to just put there really for the sake of getting them off my chest and if it provokes any thoughts in you, I would love to hear them.

I have read some thoughts recently about what the “biblical” Christian or church should be doing in the lives of others. Most of the content relies heavily on speaking biblical truths to people no matter how much it hurts, when–of course– speaking it in love, because the heart behind this biblical motivation is to encourage them in their relationship with God.

My question is this…

Should we be describing our way as “biblical”? Isn’t that implying that all other ways are not biblical—and isn’t that placing ourselves above others–and these are brothers and sisters in Christ, mind you–and making them feel intimidated, guilty and unloved? It seems that Jesus’ goal was to bring people to himself and love them unconditionally– wherever they are in their life.

I am reminded of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and was face to face with Jesus. Here is how he responded:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:3-11

I read this as an example of speaking to another in love. I do not think that throwing people’s sin in their faces is an act of love. Jesus showed love to this woman and yes, gave her a direction to leave her life of sin, but after seeing the love come through the eyes of Jesus, why wouldn’t she?

In this same passage, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees very bluntly, which I believe is an example to make note of when people are judging others by human standards:

“Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” John 8: 14-18

Jesus backed up these words by not placing judgments on others. He sets the example for us…the life of a follower of Christ should not be to judge, but to show love. That is our role.

But let’s really get down to the definition of Christian….what does this mean? In my opinion, if we call ourselves Christians, we should be just that…..followers of Christ. A follower of his teachings, his example, his life. I’m not sure this means being a follower of a particular doctrine or procedure for living. If so, where does the Holy Spirit fit into our lives? What if the Spirit is speaking to us to accomplish something that goes against the grain of our structure? Do we ignore the voice of God?

My intent in this post is not to point a finger at anyone. I am simply someone seeking to know what it means to live a life in a deep and meaningful relationship with Christ and with those in my home and community. I just tend to believe that the idea of condemning and judging others with the label of a “biblical” Christian, goes against everything that Jesus taught and lived out.