At a conference, Graham Old was told, “The vast majority of people decide to become Christians because of a crisis in their lives.” His initial reaction: that’s a “big over-statement”. I’m not so sure.

One commenter opined that the vast majority of people were always Christian and so never needed to change. That attitude is exactly why most of us need a crisis to show us the truth about ourselves. True, most Western believers come from a Christian background, because most Westerners (still) come from a Christian background.

But maybe that very Christian background is what’s keeping us from seeing ourselves the way God sees us. People become Christians when they repent and believe. Until they see their need to repent, they cannot believe. I’m quite confident that most people in most churches are not Christians. Growing up with Jesus like a big brother, it takes quite a jolt to understand that Jesus wants to become our husband.