Reaching your wits' end

In the past fortnight, I have visited Chartwell, the beloved home of Winston Churchill, and also watched the film The Darkest Hour. Churchill is best remembered as a war-leader, politician and historian. He did not have a happy childhood: his experience of love came through his nanny named Elizabeth Everest. She gave the young Winston a Christian-based upbringing.

Whilst in his 20s, he was a correspondent covering the Boer War. One of his adventures in this period was his escape from a prison train. His bid for freedom led him into a very real spiritual encounter and the loving (religious) instruction given by his childhood nanny was not without effect.

With his would-be captors nearby and not knowing which direction to go for refuge, he slumped to the ground in desperate depression. He was, he said, ‘…completely baffled, destitute of any idea of what to do or where to turn. I found no comfort in any of the philosophical ideas which some men parade in their hours of ease and strength and safety; they seemed only fair-weather friends. I realised with awful force that no exercise of my own feeble wit and strength could save me from my enemies and that without the assistance of that High-Power which interferes in the eternal sequence of causes and effects, … I could never succeed. I prayed long and earnestly for help…’ He went on to speak of how he was immediately filled with a peace that was without logic and how his deliverance was both quick and amazing.

Churchill’s account reminds me of Psalm 107. In this piece of prose, we read of four categories of people who, like Churchill, are at their wits end. Firstly, one group is in abject poverty, looking for somewhere to live and not knowing where their next meal is coming from; they see their lives ebbing away. Another group has rebelled against God’s commands and are suffering as a result. Others are foolish in their conduct and so are afflicted accordingly, to the point where they even loathe food; they need healing because death is at their door. Finally, there are those who are being terrorised by the shear forces of nature; things utterly outside of their control. All are in complete despair. However, of each group, we read, ‘Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.’

We don’t have to wait until we reach our own ‘darkest hour’ before we too can turn to God. We may be encouraged by Churchill’s story of deliverance but, even better, listen to the last verse of Psalm 107 which says, ‘Whoever is wise, let them heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord.’

#politicians #Christianfaith #sovereignty #weakness #philosophy

Disconnected

Taking advantage of the recent glorious weather, we visited two rural attractions. At Batsford Arboretum there was a marvellous variety of trees and new things were learned, and forgotten things were brought to mind (e.g. what causes leaves to change colour as summer moves towards autumn). A falconry demonstration at Mary Arden’s house saw the falconer displaying a barn owl. Apparently, this bird can hear the heartbeat of a mouse at 40 feet distance!

There is a danger that we can get so caught up in ‘how’ such wonderful things occur and exalt the science which observes, studies and explains the natural world, that we overlook the pressing question of ‘why’ such things are so.

In the Bible, we are told time and again that God is the author of creation. He created for his own good pleasure and the things he made were to bring him honour. An artist is honoured for a fine piece of art, a musician for a splendid composition and an architect for a magnificent building; how much more, the Bible reasons, should the creator of the giant redwood or the golden eagle be not only honoured but worshiped too.

Both the Old and New Testaments say that creation serves a further purpose. It speaks to us about the reality of God. This may make us uncomfortable because deep down we sense that, if God is for real, then we must be accountable to him in all areas of our lives. God clearly does not intend that we disconnect the created from the creator, glorying in the wonderful things around us whilst shrinking back from relating to the One who designed and made them all.

Christians believe God has a remedy for this disconnect; that the answer is Jesus, who reveals God even more perfectly than does creation. The author of creation steps into his own story (a bit like if Colin Dexter, while playing himself, was written into a Morse story). This is how it works: What is the character of God like? Look at Jesus – he’s just the same. What things please or displease God? Those which please and displease Jesus. Is God willing to help and forgive? Jesus is. May ordinary people like you and me come into relationship with God? We know that Jesus built relationships with ordinary people.

If a barn owl can hear the heartbeat of a mouse yards away, I believe God can hear the heart-cry of anyone who will acknowledge him and who doesn’t want to stay disconnected.

#Christianfaith #creation #forgiveness #JesusthewaytoGod #OldTestament #NewTestament

Lost and found

Do you remember the children’s comedy record ‘I’ve lost my Mummy’? The song tells the story of a little lad who finds himself lost in a big store. Shoppers, and even the manager, attempt to both comfort and assist the little ‘un, but he refuses to be consoled. Then his mother appears on the scene. His relief and joy are short lived as she gives him a hefty whack saying, ‘That ought to teach you to go and get lost!’ and the lad’s wailing resumes.

Many reading this will remember the distress when, as a child, you became separated from a loved one whilst in the midst of a crowd. On the other hand, some will recall the panic when, as a parent, you realised that your child had vanished from view. Having been reunited, you then discovered that the youngster was oblivious to the concern they had caused.

Interestingly, we read in the Bible of how Jesus, while still a boy, became separated from his family when at a festival. His anxious parents went looking for him only to find that he had other things occupying his attention and was unaware of their concern.

I wonder if Jesus carried this incident in his heart when, nearly 20 years later, he embarked upon his ministry, which he said was ‘to seek and to save that which is lost.’ In the Bible, Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd going out and bringing together his sheep. He tells a parable of how the Shepherd will leave the 99 in order to go after the one lost sheep. Having found it, the weary and possibly injured creature is hoisted onto the Shepherd’s shoulder and returned to the flock where it belongs.

Jesus further teaches how his own sheep will recognise his voice when he calls them. For nearly 2000 years, he has continued to call both lost and straying sheep into his fold. As with the parable of the lost sheep mentioned above, Jesus is still proactive, seeking, calling and even carrying the hurting and injured home.

What, according to the Bible, should our response be to all of this? ‘If today you hear his voice do not harden your heart…’ No matter how little or far from God’s fold we have wandered, there is rejoicing in heaven over each sheep found. There will be no hefty whack, nor sharp rebuke as in the song quoted at the start! Any shed tears are likely to be tears of joy. The well-known 23rd Psalm starts, ‘The Lord’s my Shepherd…’. Is he yours?

#parable #JesusasShepherd