Untested Christians

A wise friend posted this statement: The words "I trust in God" will only be tested well during desperate times.

Here’s my thought on it:-

Thinking aloud: "There is no false Christian in the foxhole of trial."

If that is the case, are we all "untested" Christians? Since we have yet to experience the smelting furnace of life or the baptism of fire, can we claim to have overcome in advance as Christ had triumphantly overcome in the past?

Where is our cross? What kind of cross are we carrying - the one Jesus carried on his flesh-torn back or a portable and light-weight bamboo cross, sometimes used more as a crutch than as an aid in our  Christian walk?

Are we really "born again" if we have yet to be borned out of the ashes of tribulation or walk through the valley of the shadow of death? What kind of Christians are we then when our only definitive "trials" are year-end exams, some colleague issues at work, the struggles to decide which country to go for holiday vacation, the competition with other parents for better grades for our children, and so on? Is our faith measured by our suffering? The more, the "merrier" (a bit of a stretch, I know).

I am wondering what would most of our faith scorecards reveal about us when we go to heaven before the mercy seat? In this affluence nation of ours, whether it is Canada or Singapore, we cannot openly claim to have experienced starvation, persecution, and untimely deaths of loved ones that leave us destitute; at least most of us are immune from such faith-bashing tragedy.

So, as "untested" Christians, will we pass the test when a real tsunamis of life comes rushing in? Will we stay afloat or drown? If some of us honestly fess' up that we cannot imagine being caught with the same dress as another in a wedding dinner or become "inconsolable" when their favorite "Kate Spade" is lost, could we then brave through a tweaked trial of moderate severity, not to mention a real unrelenting one, for the glory of God?

Maybe our faith is of a promissory nature, whereby it is a promise to suffer in the future and to suffer well once we are in the thick of it.

It's very much like marriage where jittery, idealistic and young couples take the oath that they will stay together through good times and bad. It is therefore based on this sworn declaration at the altar that the enduring love of the couple is affirmed, and even presumed, even if it has to be taken at face value. Who is to know what trials await the couple after the honeymoon?

It is also not much different from two corporate bodies signing on the dotted line and undertaking to fulfill their respective contractual obligations. It is by mutual trust that such relations are based and hopefully they flourish.

But dealing specifically with your statement, "Our trust in God will only be tested well during desperate times", it leaves one thinking about the value of a Christian in the interim, doesn't it? (Especially the word "well" in that statement).

The temptation as a flawed human being is to look at a young preacher, yet unmarried, who just happens to be the son of the founder of the church, living with a silver spoon in his mouth, and then considers all his pulpit sermons about suffering for Jesus, taking up the cross, living victoriously without anxiety and fear, and how to have a successful marriage and raising up Godly children, as sermons tainted by his lack of personal experiences.

But then again, this inevitably turns the high beam on us when we are posed this question: "By your standards, only Jesus is qualified?" Doesn't this affirm Nietzsche's disparaging statement that the last Christian died on the Cross? Doesn't this make a mockery of the Great Commission of Christ?

I remember a court case when a judge actually asked a lawyer in a divorce proceeding if he had the experience in family law since he's not married. The lawyer then replied politely, "I believe I do in the same way that I am also practicing criminal law without being a criminal."

So, I guess we can learn from everybody and anybody. Everyone of us has something good to share; something that will push us forward in life. I think when Jesus sent the motley crew of disciples out, he knew it would be an uphill climb for them. But through His guidance, history has vindicated them with faith scorecards that read, "A+".

True, experience definitely helps, in particular if you are looking for a surgeon to perform a life-saving operation. But, I guess Jesus is looking for more than that. He is looking for personal submission because the work has already been done, it’s finished. And the good news is that a "submitted heart" is a quality you possess from the get-go without the need of braving through a trial to get hold. Cheers out!