A REAL CHRISTIAN

We, who are called to be Christians, are all, at the same time, humans in flesh, and will be so, all our lives, here on earth, with our faults and failures. The Bible makes it clear that, though we are human, we are to walk worthy of the LORD, and uphold the moral and ethical standards, of the One, who has called us out of darkness – “8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” – Ephesians 5:8-10.

In the light of the Scriptures, how then should we walk as the children of the Most High God? How should we respond if we have hurt or harmed someone? We all love the LORD, and desire to walk faithfully with Him. Many times we may have failed and sinned. Sometimes such acts may have caused hurt and harm to others. Many times, the others may have been totally innocent. How do we proceed further as Christians? Do we go with our natural instincts to protect ourselves and survive the problem? Or, do we face the situation fair and square, and apologise as quickly as possible, without being asked for, nor being forced to? If so, it is an honourable thing to do. There is no shame in apologising sincerely and honestly. 

Mere apologising is not enough, when the hurt and harm had caused damage; may be, irreparable damage. What do we do then? The Church History records that, James Evans, a missionary to Canadian Indians, demonstrated what it means to walk the path of the LORD Jesus. 

He accidentally shoots an Indian convert. His friends urged him to flee, because of the consequences, and anyhow, it was, purely an accident. James, however, did not do so. Rather, he searched for the man’s family. When he located them, James apologised, and explained all the circumstances behind the killing of this Indian man. He also offered himself for adoption in the man’s place. The mother of this Indian convert was impressed, at the fact, that a white man would care about the feelings of an Indian family. She did not seek just punishment for James, but rather she let him live. For the rest of his short life, James shared his income with this mother, as a way to express his regret, and out of concern for the family, who lost their loved one, because of him.

This is being a real Christian in the face of accidents, tragedies, errors and mistakes. We are called to live like our LORD. May we seek God’s help to be truly His ambassadors.