Society always has to have its labels and no one easily escapes it. Not even the kid who went to a private Christian school his or her entire life. Those kids have just about heard it all.

Labeled the rich kids even though their parents fought and sacrificed to have them there.

Called fakes. They were told from an early age that as soon as they got out into the “real world,” they wouldn’t be able to handle it. They were told to wait until they were in a “real school.” As if being in any sort of Christian environment meant they were living in some fairytale.

Last but not least, we’ve been referred to as “the good Christians.” Now, this should seem more like a compliment except it’s handed to us under various different contexts.

“Don’t listen to her, she’s just a good Christian.”
“You wouldn’t understand, you’re the good Christian girl.”
“I was going to tell you but you’re such a good Christian, I didn’t want to.”

So by their terms, a good Christian meant someone who either didn’t know anything about anything or someone who was going to judge and criticize them for everything they did.

But who could blame them? A lot of “good Christians” weren’t inviting at all.

I was one of them.

I admit that I let this label define me for too long. I hid behind it and let myself be comfortable with being known as the good Christian because if everyone thought I was this person, I must be just that. I must live up to it.

As one of these private school kids, I can say that we sometimes (most of the time) have a misconception about following Jesus. I spent most of my years being comfortable with the identity ascribed to me, forgetting what it actually meant to be a Christian.

We know following Jesus isn’t easy. We're told this; we experience it. Yet, we remain in a state of mind that tells us it's not okay to be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is awkward and scary. For lack of a better description, it's uncomfortable to be uncomfortable. So we latch onto the labels, the routines, and the motions that make us feel safe.

But God didn’t call us to be comfortable Christians either.

Following Jesus is not at all about being comfortable.

If I only go to church when I’m comfortable, I’d hardly ever go to church.

If I heard all the things God had told me to do and only chose to do half of what he told me because most of it made me uncomfortable, then I’m not really following him.

While the Church is there to love on you, it’s also there to challenge you, help you grow, and then send you out to proclaim the gospel. I've come to learn in recent years that if we're not being challenged by the message within the church, we're not growing. We're staying in our happy little comfort zone we've built ourselves.

But God calls us out of this comfort zone, or this box we locked ourselves in. He has a habit of taking us out of this box and destroying it because he’s called us to spread the gospel (Matthew 28:16:20).

In the safe zone, there's no room for welcoming strangers that make you uncomfortable. There's no room to grow. No room for leaping into the unknown. You see, taking a leap of faith is uncomfortable. If it was supposed to be comfortable, there would be no leap in the first place.

Being that good Christian stuck in their bubble, how could there be room for growth? What good is it being a “good Christian” when their idea of it is someone who is naive or someone who’s only there to judge everyone?

The good Christian I was so comfortable being wasn’t much of a Christian at all. She followed everything a good person would do. Tried her best not to lie, cheat, do drugs, etc. But she lost sight of the essential part - following Jesus.

Because of this, I forgot that being a Christian is more than trying to be or do good. It’s about loving just as He loves us.

Sometimes we cling to the labels people have given us rather than the identity that God has already designed and defined for us because we’re scared of the expectations that He has. But God knows us and what we can handle far greater than the people we allow to name us.

I, for one, am ecstatic that God has so much more than arbitrary labels. Because if all I’m ever supposed to be is a good Christian, I will never measure up.

Thankfully, God and His grace are more than enough.