Metrics for Christians?

Sometimes it is good to take an inventory of our life. We think about living with purpose, but do we ever check to see that we are maintaining that purposeful course. What does a Christian use for metrics? Let’s experiment.

Do I go to church on a regular basis?

Do I go to Sunday School or Bible Study on a regular basis?

Am I faithful in my tithes and offerings?

Do I help those in need?

Am I charitable?

Yes, those were pretty easy. Perhaps something a little meatier is in order.

Do I tell God that I love Him?

How do I show God that I love Him?

How do I love my neighbor?

Those were a little tougher, but my presumption is that most people claiming to be Christians—that follow the ways of Jesus Christ—are feeling okay so far in this ad hoc inventory. We probably have noted a couple areas where we should have been a little less selfish or with some introspection, might have remember the day we felt we should have helped that family stranded on the side of the road; but overall, we probably feel like Jesus is ready to grab us and give us a giant hug.

Just to flush out this perspective, let’s answer one more question. Do we love our enemies?

Yes, those few lines at the end of the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel strike us like the first time we walked barefooted into an Oklahoma sticker patch. We don’t want to go any farther. We just want to sit down and cry. Can this directive be for real?

What’s the purpose of having an enemy if you can’t hate him? Jesus had already shocked his disciples with much of the teaching that preceded this in what we now commonly refer to as the Sermon on the Mount, but this was something unbelievable. Envisioning the disciples looking at each other in disbelief comes easily. Perhaps there were a few comments in the language of the day that roughly translated said, “He’s kidding right?” Some may have waited for the punch line that never followed.

Jesus was serious—dead serious. His very presence on earth in human form attests to God’s willingness to love his enemies. Jesus didn’t come because we were doing well as a race of beings and just needed a couple productivity tips. He came because people chose sin over God. People loved sin and hated God. We made ourselves God’s enemies.

God chose to love us anyway. This is the Good News in the Good News. God loved us so much that he offered us a way out of sin through Jesus. God loved us, when we did everything we could not to love him.

We don’t have to deal with enemies as often as nations do. Sometimes in school settings or occasionally at work, someone seems to be set on our demise; but most of the time, we don’t have to contend with this most difficult instruction. When the occasion arises, we are called to rise with it and love our enemy. Our emotions may tell us otherwise, but love is learned.

At some point in our lives we learned to share—that the universe didn’t revolve around us. In kindergarten we learned to share with many. As we grew older, we became better at putting others first. Now we need to learn to love our enemies, not because it’s easy or natural, but because we are faithful to the One who called us to follow him.

Christian metrics—I think the Pharisees tried something similar with their faith and they ended up embalming the law instead of using it to really live. But as far as a general indication of whether or not we are letting God shape our hearts into his divine image, asking have we learned to love our enemies is as close to a measuring stick as we might find.

What do you call a guy with degrees in Political Science and Biblical Studies? What do you call someone that served as a Marine Officer for over 20 years and now pastors a church?  What do you call someone with this unique perspective of the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God?