We Need to Up the Standard

Do they see a little bit of Jesus in you?

Maybe you’re the only representation of Jesus someone has ever seen. That means that some people will see Jesus according to what you say, do, and are. Do you understand the weight of that responsibility?

Maybe sometimes we underestimate how much we can impact those around us. There’s something I’ve noticed within our faith, and it’s the tendency of many men to follow a sort of “comfortable Christianity”, in which the standard of a Christian man gets lowered to something approximating “being acceptably decent in public and attending church on Sundays”.

I remember talking to the girlfriend of a dear friend, who used to be Catholic only to turn against Christianity as a whole. When I asked her what happened, she explained:

“I got sick and tired of watching people preach about God and claim that Christianity made them better only to find out after knowing them just how much of a piece of cr*p they really were.”

How incredibly sad. A soul lost and turned away because those of us who claim to imitate Christ and live according to higher values and who claim to pursue virtue and sanctity didn’t measure up to the standards we preached.

I don’t know the particular actions that this girl saw that so repulsed her, nor do I think it’s right to turn away from God because of the actions of sinful men. But what she says is a warning, and raises a perfectly valid point: we need to hold ourselves to higher standards of behavior and make sure Christ is present in everything we do.

You see, as Christians we have a very significant responsibility: we are supposedly imitators of Christ. At least, that’s what we should try to be. And while we will never reach the perfect standard, we must still strive for it. Not only for the sake of our own souls, but also because, if we declare ourselves Christians, we accept the fact that others will see in us a reflection of Christ, whether we like that or not. And consequently, others will judge the value of our faith by the way we live it. Just like my friend’s girlfriend, other people will look at you and decide whether or not the values that you hold are something they want in their lives. If we expect to evangelize and help others find Christ, we must honestly and genuinely strive to live according to the Christian virtues of charity, hope, and faith.

We need to up the standard. We need to strive for the perfection of Christ. We cannot keep hiding behind our human nature to justify a mediocre, sinful existence. We need to find a balance between the vocation for sanctity that demands every bit of strength and focus from us, and the undying love and forgiveness that God has for us even when we fail Him.

Many have focused too much on the forgiveness part and too little on the responsibility that being a Christian entails, which is the pursuit of sanctity and living a life of virtue and purity, so that others can see Christ in you.

If someone is to turn away from Christ, let them do so, but only after being faced with light and truth, not from a false, hypocritical representation of Him. Our role here is to imitate Christ: His courage, His truth, His leadership, His mercy.

Only by doing so will those who you encounter see Jesus in you, and be compelled to open their hearts to Him. If you will call yourself a Christian, and do things in His name, the failure to live according to His guidance is a grave betrayal, and you’ll not only harm yourself but potentially draw other souls away from salvation.

Christianity means sacrifice. It means carrying our cross, and doing our absolute best to be vessels of the light of Christ to bring a little bit of Him into this wicked world.

Hold yourself to higher standards. Pursue sanctity with all your heart. Get to know Jesus so you can better imitate Him. And remember, in your walk through life, that you might be someone that others look at to try and see Jesus.

Act accordingly.

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