A "Good" Person?

Over the past couple of months, as people have been discovering my plans for the rest of the year, I have been called a “good” person.

What does it mean to be a good person?  Does it mean that you never do anything wrong or is it just that what you do isn’t as “bad” as what everyone else does?  People keep telling me that I am a good person, but what exactly do they mean by that?  Is it because I am different in the way that I go about living my live?  Is it because I have a different set of standards than most people?  What is so amazing and inspiring about being a “good person”?  How do you even know what a good person is?

Do I define myself as a “good person”?  No way!!  I know that I am not a good person at all.  Sure, I may live my life differently than most people think of as normal, but that doesn’t make me a good person.  I still struggle with the same things that everyone else does, I still make bad decisions, I still mess up royally.  Am I better than anyone else?  No, I am just as “bad” as everyone else.

So, if I am no better than anyone else, what makes me different?  Is it the way that I grew up?  Is it the circumstances that I have been in?  Is it just a part of who I am?  No, it is a choice that I made and continue to make everyday. It is a choice that I can only make through the power of God in me, if left to my own choice, I would choose to do bad. It is a life-changing choice, something that impacts every area of my life.  

I have made and continue to make the choice to have a personal relationship with God.  How I love Him, how much He loves me, how He takes care of me and teaches me what I need to know.  I choose each day to love, trust and obey Him.  Does that make me a “good” person?  No, on the inside I am still a “bad” person, even though it might look like I am a “good” person on the outside, the difference is because of God and what He has done for me, He counts me as "good" in His eyes.

To me, trusting God is not just something that I do on Sundays, it is not a religion for me, it is a main part of my life.  To me, God is not just someone that is watching from somewhere what is going on here, but someone that really and truly cares about what happens to me each day.  I know that I am a bad person, I have done and continue to do bad things everyday.  But I also know that God sent His only son to take the penalty of what I have done that is wrong.  I owe God my life, and I am trying to give it to Him each day.  He is the reason that I live my life differently.