Draw Near To Jesus Christ

We have been addressing the elements or characteristics that make up the greatest Christian life. Of course, this is from my perspective, and others may have different ones. That is the beauty of the body of Christ—we all “know in part,” so to get the whole picture, we must put what we have together with what others have. I would count that as another characteristic of a great Christian life—the humility to be open and teachable so we can learn from others.             It does not mean you do not a have sound biblical foundation, or that you compromise your convictions when you relate to others who may have other persuasions on some things. It is the humility to realize that you do not know it all, or have the whole picture without considering the parts others have.          I have lain out in previous articles how I think the greatest Christians are those who love the Lord the most and pursue Him and the understanding of His ways with a whole heart. One of the greatest of these that I got to know by studying history was Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf of Germany.          One of the first accounts of Zinzendorf’s life was when he was eight years old. Invading Swedish soldiers broke into his house and opened the door to the room where he was praying. They were so taken aback by the depth and conviction of Zinzendorf’s prayer that they backed out of the room and then out of the house.           Zinzendorf was obviously very wealthy, possibly one of the wealthiest of his time. Yet historians call him “the rich young ruler who said ‘yes’” because he gave his entire fortune to promoting the gospel. William Carey, who is often called “the father of modern missions,” rejected that and said that Zinzendorf was the true father of modern missions and had been his own inspiration.          There are many remarkable anecdotes about Zinzendorf that other great Christians have shared who knew him. One characteristic that stands out even from the earliest stories about him was his personal love for the Lord, and then his friendship with Christians from diverse denominations and movements. One of his best friends was a Catholic bishop. He had others who were part of movements that were very anti-Catholic. Zinzendorf simply refused to base his relationship to others on church politics, but rather by their love and devotion to the Savior and what he called “the basics,” or basic Christian doctrines.          Zinzendorf took a lot of heat for some of his relationships, but he never abandoned them. He wanted to be the friend of all who he considered to be true friends of Christ. He also, though being very wealthy, spent most of his time with refugees and others from the lower classes. He was drawn to those who were drawing near to Christ regardless of the external issues of their life. That, I think, is another characteristic of a great Christian life.