The Hardest Part About Being A Christian
A Christian’s Life
By Grace K. Bianco
I believe open discussion can help others think and look at themselves, and I always hope that someone will be willing to share encouragement with me/others like me.
Being a Christian is an amazing thing. Every good and perfect thing we can credit to our Creator (James 1:17). We find our life’s purpose in Him. We stay hopeful in our trials, because we know there is so much more to life than what this Earth has to offer. We know that when we die is actually when we truly come to life. There is nothing I am more thankful for than my faith in Jesus.
With all that being said, there are some hard parts that come with it.
We are supposed to be an example to others. When it is easier to blend in, God expects us to stick out like a sore thumb (Romans 12:2). We cannot fall in love with the world and the things in this world, as great as they may seem (1 John 2:15). We have to choose carefully who we are friends with, because if their life is going too astray, it makes it easier for us to fall (Proverbs 12:26). When tough conversations come up, we cannot back down, because if we deny our beliefs, God denies us (Matthew 10:33).
Today, I will be talking about the hardest part of being a Christian TO ME. Everyone has their challenges and things to work one. This is one of mine.
Feel free to comment down below any of yours, and maybe, I (and others) can help encourage you.
Talking to Nonbelievers
This can be both an easy and an extremely difficult thing to do for me.
I love sharing my testimony and talking about faith in general. In fact, it is one of the things I can be most bold about. It doesn’t matter if you are Christian or not. It comes naturally to me to talk and/or write about.
All someone has to tell me is that they are nervous or stressed about something, and I can tell them about my anxiety and how God has helped me.
It’s the harder conversations I really struggle over. If someone asks me a tougher question about God, I am happy to answer it to the best of my abilities. For example, I had a friend ask me, “Why do good people go to hell?” Hell is one of the harsher topics, but when asked about it, I don’t freeze up.
What I struggle and pray over is how to discuss sin. If a nonbeliever is sinning, I can’t come out and say, “Hey, don’t do that.” That’s like a Buddhist telling me what I can and cannot do. It’s just not the way to go about it.
I can’t necessarily tell them it is wrong, but I can’t exactly celebrate it either. I do my best to be a person EVERYONE feels comfortable talking to. So, if a friend wants to tell me something, I want them to speak their mind. I am unapologetically myself, and I don’t want to make others feel like they have to be someone else for me. (This isn’t about me. This is about God.)
So, if I can neither correct nor celebrate, how do I go about it?
Confronting Believers
Again, this revolves around sin in a different way.
When another believer is falling into obvious sin, I struggle to call them out. I want people to feel like they can confide in me, but I don’t want to help lead them astray. Sin is an ugly thing in a believer’s life, and as much as coming across “judgey” sucks, I don’t want them to throw their lives away.
In the Bible, it is 100% clear that we are supposed to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
We all know the verses about taking the plank out of our own eye, but we stop too soon. Let’s take a look at the WHOLE verse.
Matthew 7:3–4 says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” This is usually where we stop, but look at the following verse. In verse 5, it says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
We are supposed to check our own lives for sin, and then, go and help our friend out. Do NOT fall into the “Christians aren’t supposed to judge” mindset. This is not judging. This is saving them from destruction.
Let’s take a look at another verse that backs up what I am saying as well.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” This verse pretty much says it all.
The Bible is clear on what we are supposed to do, but I can’t act like I don’t fall short a lot. I am constantly praying that I learn to say the right things in the most helpful way.
Conclusion
I really have no problem sharing the areas I fall short in as a Christian. I believe open discussion can help others think and look at themselves, and I always hope that someone will be willing to share encouragement with me/others like me.
I wish I could give helpful advice to those that feel the same as I do, but sadly, I am still figuring it out myself. (I just finished writing the first draft for this blog, and I came across Rabih Borgi’s blog literally called, “Speak Up Whatever the Cost.” Click here for the link.)
Thank goodness, God is a God full of grace. He doesn’t expect perfection, but He is always there to help us better ourselves.
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