A new trajectory

Let’s go back 47 years to January 1979. The Labour government was under pressure - it was ‘the Winter of Discontent’. Meanwhile, leaders of France, Germany, Britain and the USA held a summit. The Shah of Persia (Iran) was deposed and Ayatollah Khomeini took over, complicating Middle East tensions that are still felt today. It all sounds rather familiar.

January 1979 is firmly fixed in my own mind for a personal reason. That’s the month I became a Christian. Hearing and responding to the Good News of the Christian message is a once-in-a-lifetime event that sets you off on an entirely new trajectory.

The Christian message is a call for each of us to turn away from what we know to be bad and to believe - believing meaning to put into action our trust and faith. ‘Repent and believe’ is the Bible’s terminology.

How is this good news? When we make an about turn and expose our hearts to God, daring to trust that he has love for us with our best interests in his mind, we are then able to receive from him. Turning and trusting places us in a position to receive from God his forgiveness and the gift of his own Spirit to live within us.

Some people hesitate to take these initial steps of faith, fearing that they are not good enough or that they will not be able to stay the course. The good news is that how good or bad we may think we are is actually irrelevant. God knows that none of us is good enough to meet his standards and this is precisely why Jesus came as a saviour for people that are not good enough. Ultimately, he secured forgiveness for men and women when he was crucified and then resurrected: That’s the Easter story.

Thinking ‘I haven’t the strength to stay the course’ is a good thing, because we will more readily welcome God’s gift of his Spirit, which is given to those who will trust in Jesus. God’s Spirit is also referred to as the ‘Comforter’, meaning one who strengthens and encourages in just the same way as Jesus did with his first disciples.

We are always living in uncertain times. There is, however, nothing uncertain about the God we can meet in Jesus.