Years ago, I read a book with a fascinating premise. Basically, the book said that only one person has ever lived a normal Christian life — Jesus Christ.

By normal, I don’t mean what passes for Christianity in our culture where all you need to be saved is to recite words in a prayer and where there’s no need to show evidence of a changed life as long as you can remember the date you prayed that prayer.

Normal Christianity is biblical Christianity. It’s dying to self. It’s taking up your cross and following Jesus, no matter what the cost. It’s turning the other cheek. It’s loving your enemies.

Normal Christianity is what you find in places where Christians are persecuted and even killed. Their hopes aren’t based on getting the right people elected or getting the right laws passed. They don’t base their moral and spiritual values on a majority vote or what the media tells them.

At the end of the day, don’t strive to fit it. Don’t strive to be like every other American believer. Strive to be like Jesus. Strive to be normal.