The Perfect Christian

I read a lot of stuff on the internet.  I prefer that media because most of the time readers can make comments, and it is a great study of society.

On some recent articles, I've read a lot of comments that start, “A good Christian would….”  Sometimes those comments are made by Christians, many times they are made by someone who believes Christians are just people that believe in fairy tales.  In both instances, I find myself wondering just how people’s minds work.

To me, “a good Christian” is an oxymoron, there is no such thing.  By definition, a Christian is a person who believes there is a God, that God came to earth in the form of his son, Jesus, and that Jesus died to take the punishment for all of our sins, so that we would not have to, thus making him our Savior.  Why would someone that is perfectly good all on their own need a savior?  Jesus didn't die for the perfect people, if they exist, he died for the sinners.  Today, Good Friday, today is the day we celebrate that event. Today is the day we all need to remember that.  Today is the day we all need to remember that no one is greater than the other, we are all loved the same by God, Christian or not.  We are all imperfect, we all sin, we all have issues, and we are all forgiven for them with the simple acceptance that Jesus took the punishment for us.

I’m not a “good Christian.”  I’m a plain old regular one, a person who makes lots of mistakes, who can be mean, who often says the wrong thing, who has been divorced, who has been known to drink one too many glasses of wine, a person who is certainly not worthy of God through my own actions.  I never will be.  I’m not different than anyone else.  I’m one of those crazy people who believes someone can be on death row and still be loved by God, who believes that no one is all good or all bad, who believes we are all incapable of unimaginable things.

I do have my convictions, as every Christian does.  They are not always the same as everyone else’s.  The Bible, well, it is not always clear.  I think that is on purpose.  I think God wants to speak to each of us individually.  I have a tendency to interpret some things in a, for a lack of a better word, less strict manner.  But I realize that is my interpretation, and I don’t know if I’m right.  Others have a different one, and I have no idea if they are the ones who are right, I just know I don’t feel uncomfortable in my relationship with God the majority of the time, and when I do, I pray and re-look at things.  Only God really knows everything, and he knows I don’t, and as he created me that way, I’m good with that.

I’m not a good Christian.  I don’t even know if I could be called a good person, what exactly is that anyways?  But Sunday is the day we celebrate Jesus’ rise from the dead, giving us all new life.  New life forgiven for our sins.

That’s why they have wine.  After all, Jesus has been known to turn water into it.