Recently I have been watching the BBC TV Series ‘Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams’, as a result of which, I have nothing but admiration for the former cricketing all-rounder Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff. Because, as well as being heartening to observe, his fatherly concern has been nothing short of life changing for some whose lives, prior to meeting him, had been taking something of a downward turn.
If you haven’t seen the programme, I would strongly encourage you to give it a try. I really can’t recommend it highly enough. And don’t be put off if cricket isn’t something that interests you – because it didn’t interest the vast majority of those featured either, most of whom, despite Flintoff being one of the game’s greatest ever players, had never heard of the man who was the key member of England’s Ashes winning team of 2005.
Because ultimately, the program is not really about cricket – rather it’s about a group of young people who, because of their difficult backgrounds, never had the opportunity to play cricket in the way that Flintoff had when he too was growing up in Preston. Recognising how much he owes the game, Flintoff wants the youngsters to have the same opportunities he enjoyed, in the hope that they too would benefit as a result.
As the second series draws to a close, it’s apparent that for some the experience really has been transformative. Irrespective of whether their cricketing skills have improved, many have found a new purpose to their lives simply as a result of being appreciated as a valued member of a team One who was once unemployed and homeless, has made new friends and found work, another with poor mental health has seen improvement in his emotional well-being, and one asylum seeker from Afghanistan is now training with Lancashire and hopes to one day make it as a professional cricketer. And then there’s Flintoff himself who, struggling with anxiety after the near fatal car crash he had whilst filming an episode of ‘Top Gear,’ finds that he himself is benefitting from the support of those he is supporting.
It’s genuinely heartwarming stuff. Perhaps I’m just a sentimental old fool, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I have been unable to stop myself from crying in each and every episode that I’ve watched thus far. It’s been lovely to see the lads change as they each have become, if not perfect, unquestionably better versions of themselves.
But as well as moving me to tears, the programme has also made me think. Specifically, regarding the claims of some who point to the changed lives of those who become Christians as evidence for the truth of the gospel. Because, if it is transformed lives that prove that Christianity is true, in what way is Jesus different from Freddie Flintoff, a man who is clearly transforming lives too.
For me this is an important question. And all the more so because it’s not just cricket that has the power to change a person’s life in the way that has been demonstrated by this excellent TV documentary. I remember reading of a former drug addict who saw his life similarly turned around after he discovered the joys of gourmet cuisine and subsequently set out to become a professional chef.
So, whilst it is certainly true that Christianity can bring about positive change into an individual’s life, it is not unique in being able to do so. As such, improved circumstances in the lives of those who become Christians do not prove the truth of Christianity any more than the improved circumstances that are enjoyed by adherents of other religions, prove the truth of their own belief systems.
Furthermore, if we think God’s goodness is measured by the degree to which our life, in human terms, seems to be going well, not only will we be guilty of mistakenly believing a health, wealth and prosperity gospel, we will also reveal ourselves to be what Martin Luther called ‘theologians of glory’ – by which he meant those who imagine that God necessary wants for them, what they want for themselves. This is in contrast to those whom Luther called ‘theologians of the cross’, those who accept that God is who he reveals himself to be, that his thoughts are higher than our thoughts and that he therefore sometimes acts in ways that are very different to how we would naturally like him to.
After all, who of us would have brought salvation through the apparent foolishness of a saviour who dies on a cross. And yet, this is what God did. And if He has worked through suffering before, we must surely be open to the possibility that He might still work through suffering today.
Far then from guaranteeing that those who come to faith in Christ will see their lives necessarily getting better, the truth is that for some new Christians, their immediate circumstances remain stubbornly unchanged. Take, for example, the penitent second thief who was crucified alongside Jesus. Having asked to be remembered by Jesus, rather than subsequently escaping death, he continued to hang on a cross and, within a few short hours, suffered the same painful death that he would have, had he remained an unbeliever.
What’s more, many who become Christians find that life becomes distinctly more difficult as a result – be that as a consequence of being ostracised by their local community, discriminated against in the workplace, or suffering the far more severe persecution that leads some to flee their homes for fear of being put to death. The Bible is full of examples of those whose suffering increased as a result of their Christian faith, and Paul even goes so far as to say that, if what they believe isn’t true, Christians are to be pitied more than anyone, such is the extent of the suffering that they can subsequently expect. [1 Corinthians 15:19] And Paul’s words are born out by the fact that all but one of the disciples were eventually martyred for what that believed – the only exception fairing only slightly better by ending his days in exile on the island of Patmos.
So, if becoming a Christian doesn’t guarantee that we will all enjoy a trouble free existence, might we expect our lives to be transformed in some other way instead? Well, the answer to that question is undoubtedly ‘Yes’ – for Christians should expect to be transformed such that they gradually all become a little more like Christ.
Now don’t get me wrong. This isn’t me saying that Christians are nicer people than non-Christians. Not at all. I claim only that that Christians should be becoming nicer people than they themselves would otherwise have been.
Regrettably in me, that anticipated change has not been as great as I would have liked. Not only has it been all too slow, it has also been all too slight. But my hope nonetheless remains – that the transformation that so far has only just begun, will one day come to completion – not because of any ability of my own to bring about such change, but because God has promised that he will do all that is necessary to complete what he has already started. As such, I fully expect that one day, when, and only when, Christ returns and I see him face to face, I will be made fully like him. [Philippians 1:6, 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 John 3:2]
In the meantime though, any transformation of our character may be brought about through the suffering that is sometimes brought into our lives by the God who only has our best interests at heart. That’s why, in our better moments at least, it is possible for us ‘to rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character.’ [Romans 5:3-4]
People sometimes ask the question, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people.’ But whilst it is not for us to fully know the answer, it seems to that to me that, at least part of the reason, is so that good things can happen to bad people. For isn’t that why the worst possible thing happened to the best possible person? Isn’t that why Jesus was crucified – so that the best things, things like eternal life and our adoption into God’s family, can happen to people like us?
But whilst our being transformed into the likeness of Jesus is a distinctly Christian idea, that life circumstances can also have a positive impact on non-Christians too is not disputed. On the contrary, this is something that is wonderfully apparent in the TV series as many of the lads who make up Flintoff’s embryonic cricket team are seen becoming gradually less selfish and more respectful of others.
And whilst for the Christian, called as they are to lay down their lives for the sake of their enemies, the magnitude of the desired change may ultimately be greater, it remains the case that non-Christians are capable of great acts of self-sacrifice too. The Bible itself recognises that, though Christ was unique in being willing to die for bad people, there are nonetheless those who are prepared to lovingly lay down their lives for the sake of others. [Romans 5:6-7]
So, having acknowledged that Christians aren’t guaranteed a transformed life that is necessarily more comfortable than the one that they previously experienced, and that the transformed character expected of true Christians may be both less dramatic than the one hoped for and equalled by the personal development seen in non-Christians, is there yet another transformation possible – one that is truly unique to the Christian believer?
I believe there is. Because in becoming a Christian, the believer’s standing before a holy God has been dramatically changed. Because whilst they had once been far off, they have, ‘by the blood of Christ’ been brought near to God. So near in fact, that they are said now to be ‘in Christ’. [Ephesians 2:13]
A Christian then is one who is safe ‘in Christ’, one who, solely because of God’s grace, is viewed in the same way that God has always viewed Jesus. That is to say, he or she is counted both completely sinless and perfectly righteous. For just as ‘in Christ’ we died, so too, ‘in Christ,’ we have been raised. Clothed in his righteousness and with our sin now completely washed away, ‘there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ [Romans 8:1]
This momentous transformation is one that only Jesus can bring about. And it really is the change that matters most – for it is the change that guarantees all the future changes that we long to see, both in ourselves and the world around us.
None of which is meant to suggest that what Andrew Flintoff is doing isn’t hugely valuable. Far from it, what Freddie is up to is of immense worth. My point here is that Christianity is valuable too, supremely valuable – but not just as yet another self help programme. Because, far from being a system of ‘moralistic therapeutic deism’, designed to make one feel better about oneself whilst delivering one’s ’best life now’, Christianity is, at heart, the good news of what God has already done, in Christ, to guarantee the eternal future for a world where every tear will be wiped away and death will be no more. For along with the forgiveness we all so desperately need, this is what God secured at the cross – to the everlasting praise of his name, and the never ending joy of his people.
Because, whether our life is currently characterised by health, wealth and prosperity or filled with sickness, poverty and failure, whether we have seen some slight improvement in our behaviour, or are conscious only of how much more we still need to improve, the fact remains the same – that positioned ‘in Christ’, we are assured that, when we die, we will, like the penitent thief, be with Jesus in paradise.
It is then our ultimate future that has been ultimately transformed. And when our time comes and that is fully realised, whether we’ve enjoyed a good innings, or been given out without troubling the scorers, that will be something that will be well worth celebrating.
‘Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams’ is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.
Related posts:
To read ‘WWJD – What would Jack Do?’, click here
To read ‘Longing for the pavilion whilst enjoying a good innings’, click here
To read ‘T.S. Eliot, Jesus and the Paradox of the Christian Life’, click here
To read “Luther and the global pandemic – on becoming a theologian of the cross”, click here
To read ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’, click here
To read “Suffering- A Personal View”, click here.
To read ‘Looking back to move confidently forward’, click here
Some musings 