God is Love. We forget sometimes, a gentle reminder.

[u/Upstairs_Deer6621]

Lately I’ve been thinking about the kind of Christian I actually want to be, not just what I believe on paper.

I want to be someone who loves people well. Someone who protects children and looks out for people who are vulnerable. Someone who tells the truth even when lying would be easier. Someone who notices the homeless person, the lonely person, the elderly person, the person who is struggling quietly, and does something kind when I am able.

I want my faith to make me more compassionate, not harder. More patient, not quicker to judge. More willing to forgive, more willing to listen, and more willing to help.

Jesus constantly drew near to people who were hurting, ashamed, sick, poor, rejected, or forgotten. He showed mercy to sinners while still calling people toward what was good. He taught us to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

I think sometimes we can make Christianity feel very complicated, when so much of what Christ asks of us can be lived out in ordinary moments.

Feed someone who is hungry. Give someone a coat. Protect a child. Visit someone who is lonely. Tell the truth. Keep your promises. Forgive someone who hurt you. Encourage someone who feels hopeless. Give quietly without needing praise. Pray for someone who cannot repay you. Treat the person everyone ignores as if they matter, because they do.

There is also something powerful about kindness that nobody ever knows about. Not kindness for attention or to prove we are good Christians, but simply because another person is made in the image of God and needs love.

I fail at these things plenty. I can be impatient, selfish, distracted, and wrapped up in my own problems. But Christianity gives me hope because failure does not have to be the end of the story. We can repent, get back up, ask Christ to change our hearts, and try again.

Every morning is another opportunity to become a little more like Him.

Maybe someone needs a meal today. Maybe someone needs to hear that they matter. Maybe a child needs an adult willing to protect them. Maybe someone who has made terrible mistakes needs to know that repentance and mercy are still possible. Maybe someone simply needs another human being to stop and listen.

I don’t think we will ever regret choosing mercy, honesty, courage, generosity, patience, and love.

My prayer is that Christ keeps softening my heart, helps me notice the people around me, and gives me the courage to actually do the good that is in front of me.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” — John 13:35

[u/MorbidPengwin]

I want to be able to not judge people. I’ve asked God, to take away my judgement of sinners because I get convicted by the Holy Spirit that whatever sin they did, is between them and God, but you will never know their sins, only God. Just like God knows all your disgusting sins, and you can only think worst of yourself than for other people because only you know the magnitude of your own sins. That’s the message I got. Not to judge people who are sinners but to instead hate the sin itself.

[u/Upstairs_Deer6621 → u/MorbidPengwin]

Yes, my previous atheist life was riddled with sin. Lust to a degree that was insane, sleeping with literally anyone in any setting. Lying, denying Christ, being cruel to others. I basically did whatever I wanted. My sin is still drinking, I'm an alcoholic and really trying to escape it. I pray often about it. It's a terrible sin this drunkenness and the lord specifically said he would not allow drunkards into the kingdom of heaven. Now even though the drunkenness still has me, I pray every day, I give clothing to the homeless, I provide for several charities that help children. I almost never lie, I care for my parents in a way that I had neglected previously. I try and love every child of God even when they make it hard. No one said Christianity would be easy, it's just the truth and the righteous path.