Shocking

There are times when something you are reading really hits you between the eyes and makes you sit up and take note.  I was shocked by two pieces in the Autumn edition of 'TEAR TIMES', the magazine of Tearfund, a Christian charity engaged in the fight against poverty in today's world.

Here is the first:

"East Africa is in crisis with 23 million people facing desperate food shortages - according to the UN, it's the largest humanitarian crisis since the second world war.  As is so often the case, it is the women and children who suffer the most.  More than 800,000 children under five are severely malnourished."

As those words began to sink in, I tried to recall any recent mention of this "largest humanitarian crisis since the second world war" in our news media.  Compared with this devastating situation, the kind of stuff which so often fills our news headlines these days seems so trite and relatively unimportant.  How can we turn such a blind eye to what is going on in our world and the millions who are suffering as a consequence?

If that extract Tear Times wasn't enough, something else I read also took my breath away:

"A third of all food produced in the world is never eaten.  Not only is this a moral challenge when millions go hungry, but the wasteful grow-and-throw cycle is also contributing significantly to climate change - hitting those who live in poverty the hardest."

When this almost unbelievable statistic is combined with the earlier paragraph, it is hard not to weep, and wonder how we as a human race have got things so dreadfully wrong.  We call ourselves a civilised society, we pride ourselves on our great achievements, we spend billions on weapons of war, and yet we apparently turn a blind eye to those millions of our human family who find themselves in desperate need.

Jesus told a story of a man who was beaten by robbers and left for dead by the roadside.  Two religious people came by but continued on their journey, leaving the man laying on the road.  Another man came along who was of the hated Samaritan race.  This man had compassion on the one lying on the road; he helped get him to safety and attended to his needs.  I ask myself, as I think of the human tragedy unfolding in East Africa, which am I like - the ones who passed by or the one who stopped to help?  Is that same compassion in my heart?  How will I respond?

I am challenged by the words of the Apostle John, 'Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth' (1 John 3.18).

God forgive us.  God help us.  God melt our hearts.  God show us how to respond.

Whose image do you bear?

Some of the members of one of the churches of which I am Minister attended the annual Christian event, ECG, in Scarborough earlier this year.  The morning Bible studies were led by Methodist Minister Rev Paul Smith.  Those from my church who were present as Paul Smith led the Bible studies were so inspired and challenged by his words that they bought a copy of the dvds of the Bible Study.  Over the past four Tuesday evenings we have met at church and watched the dvds, joined by friends from other local Methodist churches.

There is no doubt that Paul Smith is one of the most gifted of current Methodist preachers/teachers (I try hard not to be jealous!)  He has a wonderful way of presenting aspects of Christian faith, which can appear complex, in a way which is understandable to the ordinary person.  One of the ways in which he gets the message across is by his excellent use of illustrations (Jesus himself was always telling stories to help people understand the things of God).

A number of Paul Smith's illustrations in the dvd series spoke very powerfully and helpfully, and I want to try and relate one in particular.  It concerns a gentleman called Thomas Cook, who was a famous Methodist evangelist in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.  A certain church had, so the story goes, invited Thomas Cook to come and speak.  Those were the days when Wesleyan Methodist Ministers had large manses and employed a maid to help keep things in order!  The Minister had given instructions to his maid to make all the necessary preparations for the arrival of their famous visitor.  As the weekend approached, the poor maid was very tired.  The Minister, apparently, heard that Thomas Cook had a particular liking for sausages, so instructed the maid to visit the local butcher's shop to buy some sausages.

The maid, by this time almost worn out with the extra work, rather begrudgingly did as she had been instructed.  She fell into conversation with the butcher, pouring out her woes, exclaiming, "You would almost think that Jesus Christ himself was coming to stay!"

Some time later, the maid found herself once more at the butcher's shop.  The butcher jokingly asked her, "Well, did Jesus Christ come to stay, then?"  The maid paused thoughtfully for a moment and replied, "Actually, I think that perhaps he did."  During his visit, Thomas Cook had made such an impression on the young lady, by his character, words and actions, that she felt that it was almost as if Jesus himself had been present in the household.

The Apostle Paul, describing those who have been called by God into his family, writes that God 'chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son' (Romans 8.29), and John writes that, 'The life of a person who professes to be living in God must bear the stamp of Christ' (1 John 2.6).  What challenging words!  What God most longs to see as he looks at his children is that we are growing into the image and likeness of his Son, Jesus Christ.  That is our calling!  It is not something which we can ever hope to accomplish in our own strength; it is only as we allow God's Holy Spirit to work in us, moulding us and shaping us, that the transformation will take place.

So, whose image do you bear?

Resisting the pull of temptation

Let me share 3 imaginary scenarios:

1. You're at a party.  There are lots of people you don't know, and you feel a little out of things.  It's not made any better by the fact that you are there alone because you and your wife aren't getting on too well and she decided not to come.  You're sitting there feeling rather isolated and sorry for yourself when, as you glance around the room, your eyes meet those of a very attractive woman.  Just for a split second you feel a spark from deep within.  Your eyes return to her and she is smiling at you; you feel an attraction to her (the male/female roles in this scenario could be reversed).

2. You're on a motorway, driving to a business meeting, and you're in a hurry.  You are due to meet a very important client, but because of delays due to roadworks, you're running late.  You feel that you ought to contact the client and tell them that you might be late for the meeting, but you realise that if you pull into a service station to make the call, that will only add to the delay.  The thought comes into your head that you could save time by using your mobile phone while driving.  You know that it's against the law, but begin to tell yourself that "just this once" won't harm anyone.

3. You're visiting a long-standing and trusted friend; as you're about to leave, the friend asks you to post an urgent letter.  It needs to be posted first class today, and as the post box is on your way home say that you will be happy to post the letter for your friend.  You arrive home and are horrified to discover the letter still on the seat next to you.  You rush to the post box, only to realise that the last post has already gone.  You post the letter, knowing that you've failed your friend.  Your friendship means a lot, and mutual trust has built up between you both over the years.  The thought comes into your mind that it might be easiest to tell your friend that you did what you'd promised; any delay can be blamed on Royal Mail.

One of the trees in our garden is a sycamore tree.  Over the years we've discovered in gardens of the various houses in which we've lived, that the sycamore is very good at spreading its seeds to make more sycamore trees.  Sue has, on several occasions, reminded me that I need to dig out the small plants before they have chance to really take root.  I was reminded of that when I came across a tiny sycamore seed just beginning to root in our current garden.  I pulled it out, but as I did so I was conscious that we also have a rather large sycamore tree in the garden.  To get rid of that one would be a very arduous and time-consuming task!  Here are images of the tiny plant (on a gardening glove) and the tree:

James gives this stark warning in his letter, 'Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death' (James 1.14&15).  It's not a sin to be tempted (Jesus himself faced temptation); the problems arise when we give in to temptation.  Whenever we face temptation, such as in the scenarios outlined earlier, we have a choice: to turn away from it or to give in to it.  It may be hard to refuse the initial enticement of temptation, but if we don't cut it off when it first arises we are likely to find ourselves drawn deeper and deeper into trouble, to an extent that we find it immensely difficult to extract ourselves.

It may be painful to resist the initial temptation, but not doing so is likely to lead to much greater pain in the future.