I'm Not a Serious Christian

I took Macy and Mallory to see the movie Soul Surfer last week. It's the story of Bethany Hamilton's remarkable recovery after being attacked by a shark. The movie shows how her faith in Christ helped her find life again. After the movie Macy said that Bethany Hamilton was a serious Christian! She also said that after watching the movie she knew that she was not a serious Christian and wondered when she would be.

I was curious as to what serious Christian meant to her so I asked her to explain. She said she wasn't exactly sure but she knew I was one and Mommy was one and Grandpa Mac was one. She went onto explain it's people who read their bible a lot and pray and stuff. She said she thinks about other stuff sometimes - she doesn't just always think about Jesus. I think what Macy meant by a serious Christian was someone whose faith in Jesus changed the way they live.

In that moment I wanted to encourage her because she seemed a little down by it, but I could sense the Holy Spirit prompting me to just wait. So I didn't say much.

Then tonight something happened at her basketball practice where Macy said something that caused one of her team mates to cry. Macy found out after practice that this girl was really upset by it. Macy was very troubled when she realized she hurt her friends feelings. She felt like she didn't mean what she had said in a bad way, but nonetheless it wounded her friend.

So Macy thought about it for a while. Then she decided to track down her friends phone number and she called her to apologize, but also to let her friend know how much she meant to her. I listened to the phone call and Macy was crying as she confronted her own mishap.

Macy did several things here that I personally think are pretty amazing. First of all, she admitted her own mistake. Then she actually did something to correct it. But she went beyond all of this and made sure to build her friend up. These are the kind of actions that strengthen friendships and build character.

After her call I asked her how it felt. She was still a little upset by everything until I told her this: "Macy - do you realize that you are a serious Christian? Anyone in the world can make a mistake... in fact everyone does make mistakes. But because you have Christ in your heart, you decided you couldn't live without making your mistake right. Now that is a serious Christian!"