Four words

In my workplace, I've often heard people say "Christians should do this", or "Christians shouldn't do that", or "That's not very Christian!" and I smile to myself, and wonder what makes them such experts.

Or sometimes they'll swear in my hearing, then apologise. Why, what did they expect - disapproval? judgement? Like, whatever... I'm a person, just like them!

I'm also a Christian - a follower of Christ.

The difficulty is, there seems to be no clear definition for what it means to be a modern-day Christian. It doesn't help that some people who call themselves Christians are often found at the opposite end of the "issues" continuum.

I've met some Christians who are quite incredible in the way they help out other people, with charity, advice or just by being a friend. But then there are the high profile Christians who fail badly and publicly. Others are in your face, telling you what you should do, and you just know they can't keep to the same standard.

The reality is, you can't put me in a box!

So here's a thought. Most people know about the 10 commandments, but they wrongly assume they're just a bunch of rules that no-one can keep, and if you break them, you're in big trouble. What they forget, or may not know, is that all those laws can be summed up in just
four simple words:
               "Love God, Love People!"

 Jesus once said it like this (my paraphrase):

"Hey, fellas, it's a new day, and there's a new way. I've taught you, and I've loved you, but I'm not gonna be around that much longer, so you have gotta start loving each other, just like I've been showing you all this time! And when people see that, they're gonna know, without a doubt, that you're one of My followers!" 

So here are the questions I have to ask myself:

• Do I love God?   What does it look like?
• Do I love people?   How would they know?
• What is my motivation?   The same as His?
• Am I a follower?   How do I look like Him?

And to answer the question about all those other "types" of Christian, perhaps this story will help:
"I'm off to work," I announced to my wife the other morning. Then five minutes later, as I shut down my computer, stuffed my pockets and loaded my bags, she says, "I thought you said you were going to work...." To which I replied, "I am - it's a process, not an event!"

And yes, I got there in the end!