You in your small corner

Thanks to Margaret Killingray (LICC) for this:

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. The wealth of nations shall come to you. Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you. Isaiah 60:1-10 (extracts)

When my neighbour's third child was born, the three year old, watching his new sister in the bath, asked in a puzzled voice, 'But, what's Maisie for?' We all laughed, but it is, actually, a serious philosophical question. What are we for? Purpose gives shape to life; purpose drives us and gives us fulfilment. Even limited purposes can divert us from everyday anxieties - organizing a holiday, packing and planning, for example. Serious loss of purpose can often lead to listlessness and depression, whether it's job loss, children leaving home, or even the end of a purpose that has been a hard grind, the award of a degree, or the achievement of a planned expansion of operations. What are we for?

Isaiah's wake-up call challenges Israel to be what they were meant to be. And this challenge, this call to take up God's purpose is a big biblical theme, often using this metaphor of light, shining in the darkness, bringing the dawn. 'You are the light of the world, the city built on a hill that cannot be hidden, a light shining before others', Jesus told his disciples. We have this purpose, those who belong to the Lord, as individuals, in our families and friendship groups, in our neighbourhoods and at work, but above all, in our fellowships. Peter in his first letter applied all the great Old Testament titles of promise and purpose - a priestly kingdom, a holy nation - to the new Christian fellowships. What Israel was called to be then, we together - the body of Christ - are called to be now.

So even when our limited purposes fail us, the children leave, retirement has come, achievement is not what we thought it would be, then more than ever, our greater purpose, to shine for our Lord in every circumstance, should bear us up and carry us through.

How many of you remember singing, 'Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light, like a little candle burning in the night. In this world of darkness, so let us shine, you in your small corner and I in mine'? That's what Maisie's for!

God's perspective?

As we come to the end of Christian Aid Week, here's a challenging (and even controversial) article from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity:

Disaster Relief

"This report contains images that some viewers may find distressing."
This is a line that our television newscasters have to deliver with alarming regularity. Barely are we coming to terms with pictures of lifeless bodies floating in filthy water in Burma when we are confronted with pictures from China, of bodies buried under tonnes of rubble after the earthquake. Both sets of pictures tell the story of thousands of lives lost and of human misery in epic proportions.

The fact is that, even in a world over which God is sovereign (a theme reiterated throughout the Bible), suffering seems to strike utterly at random. The tension implicit in this statement is one affirmed within Scripture. The 'preacher' of Ecclesiastes, who takes the existence and sovereignty of God for granted in his observations on life, concludes that 'time and chance' happen to everyone (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

It is right that our engagement with, and response to, such events takes the form of generosity and compassion towards those affected. After all, another repeated emphasis within Scripture is the requirement that God's people become neighbours to those in need.

So why, when confronted with the news of the cold-blooded murder of some of his fellow Jews by the Romans, did Jesus' response apparently lack all compassion? Linking the senseless slaughter with the random deaths of 18 people crushed when a tower collapsed at Siloam, he dismissed any attempt at establishing a direct link between suffering and judgement, before shooting the warning to the messengers, '.unless you repent, you too will all perish' (Luke 13:1-5).

Perhaps our inability to discern compassion in this response reflects the ease with which we allow worldviews other than that of Scripture to inform and shape us. According to a biblical worldview, God is in the process of renewing his creation. And whilst Scripture precludes neat equations of human suffering with divine judgement, it nevertheless insists on the reality of the latter as part of the outworking of God's purposes for the cosmos. Viewed from this perspective, doesn't Christ's warning look as much like compassion as do his healings, or foreign aid arriving in Burma, or rescue teams working tirelessly in China?

Christ's warning is an example to us of cultural engagement of the very best kind - that which broadens human horizons to take in the reality of eternity. But let's be under no illusions; this kind of connecting with culture won't do anything to enhance our street-cred; except, perhaps, in the place where the streets have no name.

Nigel Hopper LICC

Street Pastors

Following a meeting this morning it looks like Street Pastors will be coming to Scunthorpe.

Follow this Link http://www.streetpastors.co.uk/WhatisaStreetPastor/tabid/96/Default.aspx

It's early days yet, but consider whether God may be calling you to this work.

Co-ordinators will also be needed as well as people who will stay up (almost) all night to pray for the Street Pastors when they are out and about.

Watch this space.

Take my Son

A variation on a story you have probably heard before, but it contains a message worth repeating:

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had
everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often
sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very
courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was
notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A
young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.


He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son
gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to
safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often
talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this
package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think
your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by t he
young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the
personality of his son in the painting. The father, was so drawn to the eyes
that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered
to pay him for the picture. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son
did for me. It's a gift.'


The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to
his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them
any of the other great works he had collected.


The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his
paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great
paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.


On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his
gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid
for this picture?'

There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous
paintings. Skip this one.'
But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will
start the bidding? $100, $200?'
Another voice angrily, 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see
the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!'

But, still the auctioneer continued 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice
came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man
and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting.' Being a poor man, it was all
he could afford.
'We have $10, who will bid $20?'
'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'
'$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?'
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'
A man sitting on the second row shouted,
'Now let's get on with the collection!'
The auctioneer laid down his gavel 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'
'What ab out the paintings?'
I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a
secret stipulation in the will. I, was not allowed to reveal that
stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned
Who ever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the
paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the
auctioneer, His message today is:
'The Son, the Son, who'll take the Son?'
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, WHO EVER
BELIEVES IN HIM.... SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...John 3 v 16

THAT'S LOVE

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