That’s A Good Question

I had lunch with a dear friend recently. She is the kind of person whom everyone likes; she’s sweet and kind and sees the good in people. She’s been exploring the role that Christ should play in her life and attended a church she’d never been to before a few weeks ago. She’s was telling me her impressions of the service and then she said she was confused about something. One of the people she was with — who is a regular attender at this church — was not being very positive about some of the other attendees. My friend’s question was, shouldn’t someone who calls themselves a Christian behave better than that?

I thought about it for a minute and then I said to her, “I’ll let you in on a secret. The church is made up of people.” I said it tongue in cheek but it is true. People in the world sometimes forget that Christians are human too and we are still going to fail, even after we make a profession of faith.

However, I told her that she was correct — we should be different. Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bowl … Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your Father who is in heaven.”
It’s a great responsibility that God has given us. And it’s amazing when you think about it. He’s entrusted His human creation to spread the word about His saving grace! I don’t know about you but I feel quite inadequate for that job. But my friend sure got me thinking and motivated to strive to be a better example of Christ’s love to those around me.

Patty Dextrom