Articles
How can I be a better Christian?
How can I be a better Christian?
Someone asked, “How can I be a better Christian?” That is a good question, one about which each Christian ought to give some thought. The suggestions which I have made below will be a few among many which could be made. Each Christian needs to think in terms of his own life as to what he needs to do to be better. Maybe the suggestions below will help each of us.
1. We should strive to be more Christlike. That is what the word “Christian” means. Being Christlike is a broad subject which involves all areas of life. Any trait which Christ had in His life that we can add to our lives will make us a better Christian. We could be more loving and compassionate. We could be more forgiving and more forthright with truth. We could strive to do our heavenly Father’s will just as Jesus made it His purpose to do His father’s will (John 4:34).
2. We should be a servant. Jesus said that greatness came by serving. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” Matthew 20:25-28.
The best Christian is one who spends his life serving others. Mothers are faithful Christians when they serve their husbands and children. Husbands are faithful Christians when they serve their wives. Children are the kind of Christians God wants them to be when they serve their parents.
Service does not have to be just in the family. Look around. There are people in our neighborhoods and among our fellow workers who need something. When we render a service to them, we are being a better Christian. Things learned in the “holy place” need to be practiced in the “marketplace”.
3. We should worship God regularly, faithfully, and fervently. It is a mistake to think that one can be as faithful a Christian without assembling to worship as one who assembles to worship. Our heavenly Father seeks folks who will worship him. Jesus said, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” John 4:23-24.
This is why the inspired writer of the book of Hebrews said, “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” Hebrews 10:25. One of the reasons Christians gather each week is to partake of the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19) in order to remember what Christ did for us (Acts 20:7).
4. We should be involved with the church. God established the church as His body on earth (Ephesians 1:22-23). Christians are members of that body (1 Corinthians 12). Just as our physical bodies are better when each member of that body functions, so it is with the spiritual body. The body, the church, functions better when all of its members function properly. One cannot be a faithful Christian without functioning in that body. Be involved with the church. Find your place in the church and begin serving. Attend the church’s activities. Support the work of the church. Be involved in the mission of the church.
No one is going to be perfect. However, every Christian can be better. Each one needs to be as good a Christian as he possibly can be. Every Christian must examine himself (2 Corinthians 13:5) to see where he needs to grow. All the while that we are improving and striving to be better, we must remember that Jesus said, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” Luke 17:10. We can never become a Christian who deserves heaven or who earns salvation. We simply keep striving for perfection even as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48; Hebrews 6:1).
