Being a True Christian

When you think about being a Christian, what comes to mind? What sort of person is a Christian? From a basic level, we know that a Christian is like Christ, but what does that even mean? In the ministry of Christ, we see a common thread: He cared for those whom He was around. He often fellowshipped with individuals that were not always looked upon favorably. One of the greatest examples of how a Christian should act is shown in the parable of the Good Samaritan. If we back up a little bit, we see that an important question was asked of Christ. The question was: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ told those asking that their answer was found in what was written in the law. This was especially important because it illuminated whether the person knew the Scriptures as they should. Jesus said that the person who inherits eternal life has the following principle to adhere to: He should love the Lord with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind and then love his neighbor as himself. Jesus recited this Greatest Commandment when asked to do so by the Pharisees, who were perhaps attempting to trip him up and cause division by forcing Him to prioritize one law over the other. But He faithfully recited that God was to be the first and highest priority and then that we should love our neighbor.

When we look at the parable of the good Samaritan, we see that a man was beaten and basically left for dead. First, a priest passed by the fallen man, but he ignored him. This was an important aspect to note because the priests were the ones who carried the duties of the temple, and many people believed they were the ones that spoke with God. Therefore, the priest arguably should have seen this person and helped him. The next person passing through was a Levite. This group was responsible for the temple sacrifices and should have stopped to help the individual. Only the Samaritan had compassion and cared for the hurting person's wounds. He put him on his animal, took him to a place where he could recover, and paid for the expenses. Now we should take a step back and look at the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. These two groups were the epitome of people who did not get along. The Jews would take an extra long trip around Samaria when traveling to other places just to avoid walking near where the people of Samaria lived. But this Samaritan was different in that he ignored the stereotypes, saw the person in need, and gave help freely regardless of praise or reward.

So what does this mean for us? How can we be a neighbor to those around us? First, we should treat everyone equally regardless of ethnic background, financial status, or age. While there are some things that the world deems acceptable, we must base everything we do on Scripture. If God condemns something, then we must agree to do the same, even if it may not be a popular opinion in the world. However, at the same time, we must be very careful and not twist the Scripture into meaning something that it doesn’t. Many times, people use the Bible to justify their sinful or self-centered actions, attempting to disguise the wrong thing as something righteous. In our example of the Good Samaritan, it seems as though the priest and the Levite fell into this trap, avoiding doing good and potentially justifying it with their false sense of what was right in God’s eyes. But for the Samaritan, ethnic differences were ignored, and the need was met. The first aspect of helping a neighbor is loving them as ourselves. Many people will attribute this passage to the Golden Rule that we are to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This prompting helps us to develop the right attitude of care toward individuals and a desire to help them in a time of need without seeking acclaim or praise – as we would hope someone would do the same for us.