Being Christ Like without being Christian

The Christmas season always puts me in a joyful and sentimental mood. I realize that it isn't a very common occurence for me to talk about God on this blog, but it probably should be. I hold a deep and abiding love for the God who sought me out and pursued me, who suffered for me, who listens to me complain and allows me to be petty and opinionated and then gently corrects me. I have threatened to give up on Him more than once, but He has never given up on me.

He is the reason for all my joy. He, who knows me best, has given me every single thing I need for a complete and joy filled life. He has blessed me beyond measure and every day He helps me to mature into the kind of person He is proud to call His own.

Christmas time is the perfect time to share all this enthusiasm I have for Jesus with others. They are more ready for it than at any other time of the year, I think. Just tonight we were in church and the pastor said, "This is the time of year when everyone is singing our songs."

In some ways, being the wife of a pastor makes talking to others about God easier. I don't have to figure out how to tell people I'm a Christian; it comes up pretty quickly on it's own. But having people know you're a Christian can be more of a stumbling block than a help sometimes.

In all honesty, there have been plenty of times when I've wanted to bail on being a Christian - not because of Christ, but because of other Christians. I mean really, we can be such morons sometimes! I know if I asked you to give me the name of a fallen 'celebrity pastor' or televangelist, you could. But how about us run of the mill Christians? We can be some of the most mean spirited, condescending and judgemental people around.

It shouldn't be this way.

This Christmas I want to look at this topic. I want to be a witness to people, not because it scores me points or makes me look good, but because I really believe my friends and family members would be happier and more successful in life if they knew Christ. But more and more I don't want people to see me as "a Christian" because of the multitude of negatives attached to that label.

I want to be Christ-like. Jesus was friendly. He was gentle and kind and forgiving. He didn't judge. He was joyful. He was peaceful. He hung out with his friends and went fishing. He lived a purposeful life. He loved his mama and drank wine at weddings. He was compelling. He was a real person.

People want to be around people like that. I want to be like that. I want to live in such a way, and behave in such a way, that people enjoy being around me. I want to build relationship with people so that I have the opportunity to talk about Heavenly things with them.

In the next few weeks we'll talk about the common stereotypes of Christians and how to avoid them, as well as practical steps to take to be more Christ-like and less, well, Christian.

Join the discussion! I'd love to hear your thoughts...