Getting Past The "Good" Life

Many of us were were raised with basic morals; to treat others with respect and how you would want to be treated. But Jesus took living the good life a step further. He showed us that there is so much more available to us when we get past living the good life.

The problem with focusing on doing good is that doing good can only go so far.

I definitely saw that happening in my own life.

I was focused on living a "good" life that even when I was hurt and angry at others, I would still force myself to do nice things just for the sake of looking nice and loving.

I asked God, "How is it wrong for me to show love and kindness to others even though deep down I know it's forced?" I mean, I was still living a good life right?

But God's answer to me was simple and direct: That's what a Pharisee does - they do for the sake of doing, and nothing good comes out from it.

It was at that moment when I realized that what I was doing may have looked good, but it wasn't producing any real goodness to my life and anyone else's life.

1 Corinthians 13:3 says, "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not love, I gain nothing." We give to the poor and do good things because we want to show love to others, but if our intention of giving is just to look like we are loving, then we have gained nothing except a false representation of love.

Why spend all our time and efforts for nothing? Yes, you are living a good life when you give to others regardless of what you may feel inside, but you definitely are not living a Godly life.

God calls us to be Christ-like; to love with no boundaries. 

The problem with living a good life is that once someone does wrong to us, we are no longer obligated to love them. But when we live the Christ life, love no longer has any boundaries and we are still obligated to love.

In John 13:34, Jesus says, "A new command I give to you:..As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Jesus showed us what true love was, so we too are obligated to love others in that same way.

We are not called to live a good life, but to live Christ-like. Jesus was falsely accused, spat upon, and crucified, yet he still loved. In fact, his very last words were, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

Jesus fulfilled his calling from God to show the world what true love is. God is also calling each of us to fulfill a greater purpose that goes beyond living a good life; that is to show others what true love is by displaying it in our own lives.

We tend to put love in a container labeled "good people", and hate in a container labeled "bad people". However, God wants love to be put in a container labeled "all people." Will you get past the good life and choose to live the Christ life? Will you answer to the greater call in your life?

God has made great plans to use your life, but that can only be fulfilled when you choose to make Christ real through your life. So remember, get past the good life and get to the Christ life.