Words of Life: An Enduring Legacyનમૂનો

Saints on the ground.

Faye, a teenager, had been instructed by the manager to record that an inflated number of items had been damaged in transit. She knew it was not true. Should she obey the instruction or refuse to sign the docket and jeopardise her job? If she spoke out, would she be ostracised by others who may have complied with similar instructions in the past? Should she report the incident?

Instead, she explained privately to the manager that she was a Christian and unable to fulfil his wishes while remaining loyal to Jesus and his values. Far from being furious, the manager was so impressed by her witness that he apologised for putting her in an awkward situation and never again asked her, or others, to falsify documents. You don’t have to be old or in a special position to show practical holiness and be saintly.

The word ‘saint’ can be confusing as it can be used in different contexts: ‘When the saints come marching in’ or ‘Be a saint and do the washing up’, for example. Even within Christianity, it has different meanings. The apostle Paul referred to ordinary members of the Church, in several centres, as being God’s holy people or saints. Some branches of the Church reserve ‘saint’ for those through whom miracles have been performed. In the past, saints have often been depicted with haloes.

What we need are not sanctimonious figures, but flesh-and-blood examples of everyday Christians, like Faye, to inspire us. Not plaster saints or people removed from life, but saints with their feet firmly on the ground. Saints never take the place of Jesus in honour or importance, but they can help us realise that it is possible to be Christlike, living in response to the gospel.

‘Put God’s work first… Then the other things will be yours as well.’ That’s what saints do. Let’s see and want the possibilities, and be saints on the ground.