What’s the daily life of a Christian supposed to look like?

There’s a lot to learn from the Bible. Just when we think we’ve figured out a particular passage of scripture, we come back through it and learn something we “didn’t see” the first time through!

We’ll never exhaust our examination of the scriptures, we’ll never master all they contain. That’s why the study of God’s Word is a life-long exercise of learning and applying every day.

But for most of us, we want our Bible study to be more than a rigorous theological exploration, we want some practical — even simple — directions that provide a clear understanding of what it looks like to live as a Christian on a daily basis. Fortunately, the Bible is full of such instruction for us; the challenge is actually doing it!

Take, for example, this exhortation from the Apostle Paul …

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. – Philippians 2:14-15.

Those are some hard instructions! How can we live as “… bright lights …” since the world really is “… full of crooked and perverse people”?

There is a story about an American who traveled to Paris on business. While there, he wanted to buy his wife a gift, and after shopping for a while, he purchased a phosphorescent, mother-of-pearl matchbox container. The beauty of this little box was that it was supposed to radiate a wonderful light in the darkness.

The man packed his gift in his suitcase, took it home, and after a “welcome home” dinner with his family he asked for the lights to be turned off. In the dark he took the matchbox container from his pocket to present to his wife, but when he looked at it, it was as black as the darkness around.

“That is just what they palm off on foreigners. I’ve been swindled!” the man stated with disappointment.

But the next day his wife, a bit curious, discovered on the box a few words in French. So she took her gift to some friends who had a French maid, who translated the words on the box. That night, in the darkness, the little box was all aglow, for the lady had followed the instructions written on the box, which said:

“If you keep me all day long in the sunlight, I will shine for you all night long in the darkness.”

How can we Christians shine like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people?

By spending our days basking in the “sonlight,” or the light of Jesus Christ, the very Son of God.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life,’” John 8:12.

We used to be as crooked and perverse as anyone else in the world, but look at what God has done through Jesus Christ …

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light,” 1 Peter 2:9.

So how is it possible for us to do everything without complaining and to live clean, innocent lives as children of God? By letting God transform us as we soak in the light of His Son and in His Word. That exposure will cause us to “… shine like bright lights …” in this crooked and perverse world.

What does it look like to live life every day as a Christian?

It’s living without complaining, without arguing. It’s living a clean, innocent life — a life no longer enslaved to sin but set free to live out the righteousness of Christ. Such living examples easily pierces the darkness of this world and stands out as a bright light in a dark world.

Is that how you’re living?

Are you in the Bible daily, exploring the simple instructions that ARE there for God’s children, and then working on applying them each day? Are you living without complaining and arguing? Would others say by how you live that your life is “clean” and “innocent”?

If you’re a Christian, God has called you “… out of the darkness into His wonderful light,” and now you can live as His lights in a dark world.

Is that what your daily Christian life looks like?

Scotty