Thoughts from Last Week

There have been many Mandela’s in the world’s history (William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King Junior, Mahatma Gandhi and many more), for whom I thank God, and I am also deeply thankful that so many in our country at the moment are recognizing the common humanity we all share and that there is a great need for us to serve and uplift one another. It is clear that there is a hunger for moral, ethical and social renewal.

My sadness is that this is the very message (and more) that the Church has supposed to been delivering to the people from the time of Jesus – why do so many not hear it or see it (St Francis of Assisi famously said – ‘Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words.’)?

I am thankful that God has blessed this nation with a person of the stature of Nelson Mandela and I am thankful for his legacy and that it is moving so many to serve and to think of the needs of others. And although the Church has often been guilty of being bad messengers of the true Gospel or messengers of a different Gospel, the fact is that we have a life changing message about a God who transcends the differences we create amongst ourselves and heals the brokenness within us caused by our sin and the sin of others and we must not miss this opportunity (the times we are living in) to preach the Gospel – and if necessary, use words too.

Lots of love,