It’s not a family secret. The entire world knows that some very public figures who identified with and promoted Christianity and preached from the Bible have crashed and burned just like a high-flying aircraft.
Questions flood our minds. Were they really Christians, or was Christianity to them nothing more than their ladder to climb to success, fame and even wealth? If they weren’t authentic, who is? Are all Christians fakes, frauds, or failures?
If the only people you knew who were associated with Christianity were those who crashed, you might well wonder if there is anything to the Christian message of the Gospel.
I remember the horrific crash of China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735. With 132 people on board, the twohour flight between two major cities in China should have just been a normal, routine flight, but it ended in disaster.
Just over an hour into its journey, the airplane pitched over into a sudden near-vertical dive. The jet hurtled to the ground at high-speed, slamming into a hillside in a fiery explosion.
Sadly, we are all aware of this disaster, but not every flight has such a dreadful ending. For instance, back in 2019, there were 39,000,000 successful flights. But the only ones we heard about in the news, were the eight flights that crashed, resulting in tragic fatalities—eight of the thirtynine million.
When you watch TV and social media and see some of the craziness that goes on under the name of religion broadly, you could become very cynical and sick of it all. But step back and think about all the Christians you will never see featured in the evening news. What about them?
As a child, I vividly recall accompanying my father to visit an elderly woman out in the country. We went up the unpaved hilly road until we arrived in Edna’s yard. She welcomed us into her very small and humble home. Her tattered Bible was open at her table. She was so happy, exceedingly joyful, and very contented. She loved her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Definitely not materially wealthy, Edna’s wealth in Christ was etched into my young mind. Humble Edna arrived at her Heavenly Home with her integrity and joyful testimony intact, leaving behind her a legacy of faithfulness.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Over the years, I have visited other homes at the other end of the spectrum – and many in between. Bibles were open in their homes too, and they knew what it was to get on their knees to pray. They quietly shared their blessings in life with those who had less. They loved the Lord and served Him happily and humbly in obscurity.
In many places throughout the Bible, glimpses of what a Christian’s reputation should be are given. One such Bible verse lists features of an authentic Christian who is living for Christ: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, selfcontrol” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Light should radiate from a Christian’s life – wherever they are. Jesus said to His followers: “You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
Think of the plane crash analogy again – 39,000,000 successful flights each year, but we only hear about the tragedy of the very, very few that crash. I would like you to know that God has humble, quiet, compassionate, joyful, welcoming and peaceful, scandal-free faithful believers dotting the globe! They live their helpful, kind, and faithful lives for the Lord in obscurity and eventually, they are welcomed home to Heaven. They are a blessing in their community – and people see the reality of Christ living in them because they reflect the virtues that people associate with Christ.
The only fool-proof litmus test of who is a genuine Christian is whether or not the individual has a moment in their life when they repented of their sin and turned in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. A Christian has faced their own sinful brokenness and lostness and has turned to God for salvation. Do you have a specific time in your own life when God saved your soul?
A Christian is far from perfect, but we worship and serve a Perfect Saviour and Lord.
Be sure of this – there are millions of happy and faithful Christians around the world who honour Jesus Christ and humbly try to reflect something of His virtues every day.
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