A German lady sat down next to me on a recent train ride. Once again, my Persian textbook served as a wonderful ice breaker. “Why are you learning Persian?” she asked. “Because I love the people of Iran and Afghanistan, and want to share Jesus Christ with the immigrants from there.” She noticed my clerical collar and replied, “Speaking to them in their own language will help them integrate better, but all religions are essentially the same…Christianity is no better or worse than any other religion. Actually, it’s probably worse…” At that point we were speeding though North Rhine-Westphalia, a region especially plagued by horrific crimes committed by some Christians against other Christians. “I know what you mean,” I answered, “but it would be unfair to write off all of Christianity because some of its followers are bad apples.“ “What do you mean?” she asked. “Look at it this way: Imagine you had a crack in your bathroom mirror. When you look in that mirror, is the crack really on your face—or is it only on the reflection?” “Well, on the reflection, of course.” “Exactly. Your face is fine. So, to understand Christianity, we can’t always look at its followers, as sad as that may be. Look at Christ instead—as He reveals Himself in the Bible. For example, He says, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to *love* one another” (John 13:34). Those bad apples don’t reflect Christianity at all.” “Hmm, I’ve never looked at it that way,” she said. “Don’t look at Christians… look at Christ.” After a long pause, she added, “I’m glad you’re telling this to the immigrants. They need to hear it… So do we…” I thanked her for our conversation and asked whether I might share it on social media and also take a picture of her hands—to keep her anonymous. “Absolutely!” she replied. Then she even “posed” for my snapshot.
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