THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Justin was a brilliant philosopher before he became a Christian. After he became a Christian, he did not abandon philosophy. Instead he kept his profession and life’s calling because he said, after he became a Christian, he became a “better philosopher.”
Justin, who lived from 100 AD to 165 AD, did not only become a better philosopher by being a Christian, he, too, became a stronger and brave man. When the ruler of Rome asked him to renounce his faith by making offering to gods, he refused. This was his answer, “No one who is rightly minded turns from true beliefs to false.” For that he was executed by beheading; hence, the name Justin Martyr.

Being a Christian should make us wiser; we just can’t help it with the abundance of wisdom written in the Scriptures for us to soak in. But more than wiser, being a Christian ought to make us better persons, who closely resemble Christ in every shape and form. Being a Christian should mold our character to the point that whatever it is we do for living, we do it with our hearts and souls.

When Santy was in the hospital for three days, she was cared for by several nurses. She told me she could distinguish good nurses from mediocre nurses, in that good nurses do their jobs wholeheartedly and with genuine care while mediocre nurses merely do their jobs to meet the requirements. By default, Christians should become good nurses—or good accountants or good businessmen and women—because being a Christian should make us better people.

God calls us to be better people; He never promised us to be successful people. But what we usually seek is not to be better but rather to be successful by the world’s standard . . . until we are weak and sick. That’s the time we look for better people.

Pastor Paul