Bill's Ramblings

[COLOR=Blue].. There is a great deal of conflict over the definition of a Christian, today. I have, often been told that I have lied when stating that I am a Christian.[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]People of the world expect to see a perfect human being when they see a Christian and if the viewed subject, like myself, is a sinner struggling to live a Godly life they deduce that we are hypocrites.
.. First thing to understand is that Christians come, just like any group of people, in varying states of development. There are 50 and 60 year old, just converted, Christians that are just babes in the faith. Then there are, what I term as, toddlers. Sadly, it appears that most of the body of Christ will fall into that group. They know enough to see what they should grow into but they are having so much fun being what they are right now that they refuse to grow.
.. There are many other stages, to numerous to list but there are the mature Christians, that I sometimes believe I have grown into. They still fall now and then but they never plan to sin any more and they, almost, always repent as soon as the Spirit of God tugs at their heart strings. There are others, I know very little of them except to watch them and seek to grow to the point they have reached.
.. But as I said, Christians are not stamped out with a cookie cutter and we are not all the same. So, what is a Christian? First and foremost, a group of Christians is a group of sinners that have banded together to do something to correct their condition. You could say that we are in the Recovery Room at God's Hospital. As much as we wish it were so, we are not without sin, yet.
.. The Christian that the World wants to see is already in Heaven and none of us here will cease to try but just the same, we will not be made perfect until we die and ascend into the Promised Land, Heaven.
.. I suppose the best reason the worldly man has for calling us hypocrites is because we have a set of rules to model our lives by but not a one of us has ever made that goal, nor shall we. It isn't that we do not strive to be Holy, it is simply that we fall short of the mark set by God.
.. I believe that the best understanding of what a Christian is, is to understand that we are men and women that have decided to walk in the light of God's Word so that we can have the honor of walking with God.
.. Please, anyone with another idea, tell me.
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