I’ve covered this theme before, but it’s one so central to Lent that I’m reinforcing it today by posting the introduction to my Lent study book, Spot the Difference. It’s easy enough to say we are a Christian; easy to declare our faith and profess our commitment; but in the final analysis the question that matters is this: what difference does it make?
‘You’re a Christian, are you?’ said the stranger. ‘So what?’ I’d thought he was interested up till then, eager to find out more, and up to a point perhaps he was, but his comment oozed scepticism, and as we talked further I realised he had good reason. He’d known many Christians over the years, in fact been part of a church himself for a while, but he’d grown disillusioned, the glib talk he’d heard during that time about love, joy and goodness failing to find a corresponding echo in people’s lives. Christians, he argued, have no monopoly on such things, many non-believers indeed putting them to shame. And, of course, he was right. We show the same
faults and weaknesses as anyone else, there being precious little about our lives to distinguish them from those around us. God forbid that anyone might judge Christ by the yardstick of our
discipleship, but that, unfortunately, is precisely what many will do. Of course, we can argue in mitigation that the Church is as much for sinners as saints, but that doesn’t mean our flawed discipleship doesn’t matter. Our daily aim should be to grow more like Jesus, striving with God’s help to serve him better.
Traditionally, Lent is a time of examination directed towards that end; a time for recognising where our commitment is lacking and seeking to deepen our faith. The challenge is succinctly put in those stark words of my interrogator: ‘So what?’ What difference does being a Christian make to your life and what difference should it make? Are you simply going through the motions or does your discipleship actually show? In this book we consider five ways in which commitment should manifest itself: in a quality of love, a spontaneity of witness, a disposition of joy, a generosity of spirit and a vibrant inner faith. Of course there are other aspects we could focus on – peace, truth and hope, for example – but if these five alone were truly to characterise our life, what an impact we would make. Focus upon such things, seeking with God’s help to make them more fully a part of who and what you are, and, make no mistake, people will spot the difference!