bad Christians

During a seminar at school this week, Lily and I were professionally attentive, as usual. As we passed notes back and forth, an interestingly involved and spiritual conversation arose. She asked me why all Christians do not obey Biblical principles. Somewhat hesitantly, I wrote and explained the phrase "bad Christians." I hesitated because, really, all of us are "bad," and some of us are Christians. Logically, it follows that all Christians are "bad Christians."

I walked to my car thinking about my use of the adjective bad to describe a subset of Christians. As I thought, I concluded these two words are a beautiful summary of so much of the hope that Jesus offers. In a world where so much of who we are is defined by what we do, God's unfailing, unconditional love is an anomaly. He loves without condition, and He forgives on only one condition: that I accept it. Because my Christian identity depends not on who I am nor on what I do but solely on who God is and what He does, I can, in fact, be both bad and a Christian.
Whew!
-mo

{Of course, a good Christian's goal, although he may never attain it, is not to be bad (see 1 Peter 1.14-15).}