Live Up To The Standard

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9 NIV

I was recently reading something online, and someone was making a strong case about why they are not Christian. The person spoke a lot about how people in the body of Christ behave, and how they carry themselves. The person continued to highlight how some of the behaviors of Christians are discouraging and how they could not understand how people call themselves “Christians” but, behave the way they behave.

I took some time to do some reflection. As I was reflecting, I gathered two main things. First and foremost, we (myself included) are not living up to the standard of Christ. The second thing that I gathered was that, in our human nature, we are not perfect, but we are perfected daily through the Holy Spirit.

Let’s take some time to look at the first point: we are not living up to the standard of Christ. Well, before we even begin to evaluate if we are living up to the standard, we must know what the standard is. Jesus Christ is the standard. There are many verses in the Bible that talk about the Christian lifestyle, but, I would like to start really basic.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

As a Christian, we must strive to exhibit the different elements of the fruit of the Spirit. However, we must also understand that we need the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to exhibit these elements. Without the Holy Spirit, we will struggle to live up to the standard of Christ.

Many people say, “She claims that she’s Christian and she acts this way”. I believe there are a few things to consider here. As Christians, we are CALLED to be ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor 5:20) and we are called out of the darkness into light. We have been called into royalty. Another thing to note is that, we have been called to be the LIGHT of this world. As the light of this world (Matt 5:17), if we are not living up to our standard of being bright for Christ, the world will definitely question us. Our Christian walk is not only for ourselves, but it is so we may be an example unto others.

The second point is that we are human beings. As human beings, we struggle often to make positive choices. However, the only difference between Christians and non-believers is that Christians are reborn through Christ and have made a choice to follow Christ and his mandates. As Christians, we have been called to be a “new creation”, leaving old things and old ways behind (2 Cor 5:17). However, even as Christians, we still struggle to exhibit Christlikeness, which is why we require the Holy Spirit for direction.

Do we continue to behave like we do not know God, who sacrificed his son for our sins and transgressions so we could be saved? No. As Christians, should we use the grace of God to make excuses for ungodliness? No. We are called to live up to the standard of Christ, through the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Although there may be challenges along the way, we must remember that our Christian walk is not solely about us. It is to be an example onto others.

Let’s say a prayer:

Father God, thank you for all that you have done in my life. Thank you for sacrificing your son for us so that we may have life. Father, may you help us to live up to the standard that you have called us to live. May we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. May your Holy Spirit guide us and show us where to go, how to carry ourselves and what to do daily. May you change our mindsets and our behavior and may you help us to be more like you. May you help us to be the light of the world, so that people may see us and glorify you. Thank you Father, in Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Sincerely Yours, Lydia.