One of the keys to John Calvin's enduring influence is his practical advice on Christian living. He understood ordinary people in the midst of ordinary life. “If we live, we must use the necessary instruments for life. We cannot avoid those matters which serve our pleasures rather than our needs. But that we should use them with a pure conscience, we should observe moderation.” Calvin did not advocate withdrawal from the world. He built no monasteries – no wandering the highways with a begging bowl. He was a city man, and projected a way of life for urban men and women. As a devotional writer, he can speak to a modern world.
Among young people, a recent guide to conduct was to ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” That was not Calvin's question, but his thoughts were on similar lines: “The Lord has adopted us to be His children on condition that we show forth an imitation of Christ.” This means our way of life should reflect our faith. Mere talk is of little consequence, but character is vitally important. True religion is reflected in our thought, our conduct and even in our wishes. We are dependent on God, so pride in ourselves, arrogance and self-glorification should have little place in our lives.
Calvin wrote a little book which is published in English as The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life. Its contents became chapters in his famous Institutes, but it is much easier to read in the smaller volume. Christian life is hopeful because it is based on the promises of God. The final hope is for life beyond this life, and this enables us to look past the troubles of the passing days. On the whole, Calvin had a gloomy view of human life; he was a refugee, having been driven out of France, and for a time also from Geneva, and he helped the citizens of Geneva make the city a place of refuge for other refugees. Nevertheless this is God's world, and everything in it gives evidence of God's goodness. We should praise God for his blessings, and take pleasure in the beauties of nature and of art.
Unlike many other devotional writers, Calvin was a married man. He knew some of the difficulties of family life. Who is not aware of shortcomings in a husband or a wife? And willful children were as much part of his age as of ours: “Nothing in this world can be expected but strife.” Yet we can learn to live beyond these and other troubles. “Since this life serves to teach us the divine kindness, how dare we scorn it as if there was no good in it?”
The imitation of Christ requires self-denial and the bearing of suffering. Both of these were borne by Jesus, and we should not expect to avoid them. At times it is difficult to place our neighbours' interests above our own, but we must do so with a willing heart and a ready hand. At times we must give up our rights for the sake of others. The gifts we are given are ours so that we may share them with others. Calvin has been portrayed as the originator (or the eager advocate) of unbridled capitalism. This is a grotesque caricature. His emphasis on self-denial is a direct contradiction of greed. “Let us remember that the distribution of profits must be determined by the law of love.” What does link Calvin to good business practice is that he believed in accountability. We are accountable to God for the life we live.
Suffering is more difficult than self-denial. For Jesus, it meant bearing the cross. If we are imitators of Christ we will have our lesser crosses to bear. It may be a real comfort to us to sense that in our miseries we have a share in the sufferings of the Master. The fact is that no one can escape from the sorrows and pains of this world. Calvin says that we should bear them with a cheerful and joyful heart, for we should know that “God will temper the bitterness of the cross with the joy of the spirit.” Sometimes our suffering results from some action in a good cause. Upholding any good cause is for Calvin a worthy Christian service, and should bring its own consolation.
According to Calvin, the true Christian life is an imitation of Christ, in humble obedience, in self-denial, in bearing suffering, in hoping for a better world, and in the right use of this present life. God has provided us with wonderful gifts, and nothing can be wrong with the use of them if they are used for the purposes which God created them. God has provided plants and trees and fruits; these are for our use, and our enjoyment. Among the divine blessings is the gift of wine “which makes glad the heart of man.” Such things are given to us that we may praise the goodness of God.
There were two texts from the Bible which were central to Calvin's advice. One is from the Old Testament, Leviticus 19:2: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord am holy.” Calvin noted that holiness is not a merit we can attain, but a gift from Christ that enables us to follow him. The other text is from Paul's letter to the Romans: “I appeal to you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Calvin would have us aim for perfection, but as this is unattainable we should seek for spiritual progress according to our abilities. Such ideas are as appropriate today as they were in Calvin's Geneva.
