Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

Christianity was never supposed to be about do's and don'ts; the Jews already had that covered. To be Christ like - a Christian - is to live under grace, loving each other and our enemies, as Jesus modeled it for us. Christians are human. Becoming a Christian doesn't make a person perfect all of a sudden. This becomes a double edged sword.

Edge one - Christians still screw up and regularly. Churches aren't social clubs, or at least shouldn't be. Churches are more like hospitals where the broken go for healing. But the former tends to be the case more often than not. For this reason, many Christians cover up their own brokenness and put on airs of perfection. Bad on all of us for doing so.

Edge two - non-Christians associate Christianity with perfection. In this mind set there is absolutely no tolerance for hypocrisy, in any shade. With regards to the way many professing Christians handle there own sin, it is no wonder Christianity is earning a bad name.

I am a Christian, not because I have any grasp on what it means to be perfect, but because I recognize my extreme lack and my need for a Savior. Because Jesus first loved me, I have the responsibility to show that same love to both my friend and, more importantly, my enemy. I can't say, "I love God" and then hate my enemy, else I am a liar (1 John 4:19).

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