Yesterday, amongst meetings and phone calls and endless reports, a coworker made an offhand comment that did not offend me, but it did make me think.
She essentially made the casual assertion that she viewed Christians as hypocritical in that “they” were constantly trying to be perfect like Jesus.
Each one of us (regardless of faith), on some level, know that none of us are perfect.
Not even close.
Her allegation made perfect logical sense.
In fact, it fits quite nicely into the Pythagorean Theorem.
If A = B and B = C; then A = C.
If Christians are trying to be like Jesus and Jesus was a perfect being (i.e. blameless, shameless, sinless, etc.); then Christians are trying to be perfect.
Yet, we Christians, so broken and so in need of constant grace, know that this seemingly otherwise flawless argument just doesn’t add up!
So, how is it that we are both striving to be like Jesus, and yet not trying to achieve perfection?
Amongst finishing a leftover burrito at 3:49AM (I am six months pregnant—hello insomnia and night hunger), the answer suddenly came to me.
The above formula is missing one huge piece: another dose of Jesus.
(And in life, when in doubt, add more Jesus)
See, my coworker would be absolutely right if Christians were identical inside and out to non-Christians.
And what sets apart a Christian from a non-Christian?
The answer looms almost mockingly in my subconscious: Jesus.
Humans on their own striving to be perfect and sinless like Jesus Christ would absolutely be a walking and talking contradiction and constantly hypocritical as it is inherently impossible.
But Christians aren't ever striving for anything on their own. We have Jesus.
Ergo, it is because of a living and breathing JESUS in us and through us (and not by our own actions) that we are striving to be like Jesus.
Jesus is “trying” to be like Himself through us.
And that, my friend, makes perfect logical sense.
http://www.incourage.me/2012/03/jesus-the-pythagorean-theorem.html
