When Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks Exhibition at Baker Street, London, was burned down, all the kings and queens and famous people melted and ran. They melted because they were made of wax. They were not real people but they looked remarkably lifelike. If you have ever visited the exhibition at its new home in Marylebone Road, London, you may have been taken in by the wax policeman at the door. Many people have made that mistake and asked him for directions. But the fire found the original policeman at Baker Street wanting, because even he ran that night. What must stand the test of fire cannot be made of wax.

In Roman times wealthy people were very fond of statuary – figures of marble or stone standing in their houses or gardens. Sometimes damaged or cracked statues were doctored up to look perfect by filling in the flaws with wax and colouring it to look like the real thing. The trouble was that in the gardens the hot sun melted the wax and gave the game away.

This coined the Latin word SINCERUS meaning pure or unadulterated. It was a word to describe something that was good all through without fault or blemish, or wax. The English translation of SINCERUS is SINCERE meaning true, genuine and unaffected. So when you sign a letter with the words “Yours sincerely” you are saying in effect, ‘my comment and affection are genuine and true. I won’t melt and I won’t run. I am the same throughout’. That is a very powerful statement. Are there any cracks in your character? Do you sometimes forget, or say or do the wrong thing? Are there no lapses on bad days? In all honesty most of us would have to admit that at times our sincerity is flawed.

There is one person who has lived on this earth and was good and sincere all through. A person who was without flaws, and those that follow Jesus Christ will gain from His strength and character. To keep His company means that we will become more like Him. In time that sincerity will become the mark of those who are really trying to follow that path. They will display that they are not shams, but pure through and through. They will not melt and run when they should stand and declare.

Thanks to Ron Clarke w4w@keypoint.com.au