Born ... what for?

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 1 Timothy 1:15 ESV

What are people born for? Well, you might think, what a silly question! Couples may expect to start families, sooner or later. There may be some planning behind it; some wishes to fulfil. But usually it is not the result of a profound philosophical choice.

Of course, there may be incentives behind having children that don’t normally come to mind. We hear stories of “saviour siblings” being born. The intention is that they will one day provide healthy tissue that can transform the life of an older brother or sister whose existence would otherwise be blighted by some congenital abnormality.

What the baby will eventually think about this reason for its being born can only be imagined. It never had a say in the matter.

Before the advance of modern science, life was, if tragic, at least less fraught with moral dilemmas over what is right or wrong for the unborn child.

With the Lord Jesus, the supreme “Saviour sibling” in a family of mother, father, four boys and at least two girls (Mark 6:3), it was different. As Christians we believe in the pre-existence of Jesus before His life on earth. He was in glory. He and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were in full agreement from all eternity about His eventual birth as a baby on earth and its purpose.

It would underline a theological truth: that Jesus was both fully human and fully God.

And it would not just be about abstract theology. He would be born

“into the world to save sinners”.

He also came to pass judgment on the rights and wrongs of the world:

“For judgment I came into this world,” He said, “that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” (John 9:39)

In other words, He would apply a litmus test that would show clearly who was on God’s side and who was not.

He also came to give abundant life to those who believed in Him.

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

The old carol “Good Christian men, rejoice” has it about right:

Good Christian men, rejoice
with heart, and soul, and voice,
give ye heed to what we say:
Jesus Christ is born today;
ox and ass before Him bow
and He is in the manger now.
Christ is born today!
Christ is born today!

Good Christian men, rejoice
with heart, and soul, and voice;
now ye hear of endless bliss:
Jesus Christ was born for this!
He hath oped the heavenly door,
and man is blessed for evermore.
Christ was born for this!
Christ was born for this!

Good Christian men, rejoice
with heart, and soul, and voice;
now ye need not fear the grave:
Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one and calls you all,
to gain His everlasting hall:
Christ was born to save!
Christ was born to save!

The Recce

The great day approaches: I am due to lead my first walk for Get Wiltshire Walking next Tuesday.

One essential for being a good walk leader is that you reconnoitre your walk beforehand - not more than a week in advance, and ideally as close as possible to the date.

The walkers will want to know that you have already been round the course and spotted any difficulties that might make the walk hazardous or uncomfortable: lots of mud, slippery ice, fallen branches and so on. The knowledge that you have taken this step builds confidence all round. Walkers know that leaders have trodden the route in advance and are taking them nowhere they would avoid going if doing it on their own.

Of course, hazards can unexpectedly appear. That mound of earth that someone has dumped in the middle of the path wasn’t there the other day. In such cases the leader is looked to to make responsible decisions about alternative routes so as not to put anyone at risk. In most cases this is not necessary. The potential hazards have been viewed and addressed in advance and the risk controlled.

In the armed forces, where danger is unavoidable, good leadership is vital. The most loved and respected officers have generally been those who prove themselves able to do what they expect the troops under them to do.

Admiral Lord Nelson was popular on board ship because he 

“... understood the realities of combat, and he understood that when leaders set the example, their subordinates are more likely to rise to the challenge. Nelson’s sailors loved him, because he shared the dangers alongside them”. 

Anyone who has been on board HMS Victory and spotted the plaque which marks where Nelson was fatally shot will know this truth. Danger is unavoidable in naval combat, of course, and Nelson was targeted in the most exposed of spots where he expected his men to be.

For precisely this reason, it does high credit to Jesus to say that

“… we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV 1984).

In His thirty or so years on earth, there was no facet of human experience that Jesus did not go through in some way or another.

An old hymn includes this verse which sums it up neatly:

Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that into God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.

Richard Baxter, 1615-1691

Every time a believer is baptised, the same truth is remembered in dramatic fashion as the person goes down into the water and then emerges again.

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new [resurrection] life” (Romans 6:3-4).
The Lord Jesus Christ may not have gone through every detail of our experience. Yet in our bitterest and most forsaken moments He can still remind us with true conviction, “I understand; I’ve been there”.

Mentors

Last time I shared one venture I have embarked on: leading a local walking group. This time I shall introduce another, which is mentoring at a local school.

The word “mentoring” is now being increasingly heard in certain Christian circles. It can involve someone, possibly older and with more experience of life, meeting with a younger Christian to give support and encouragement on his or her journey.

In the school context, mentoring is rather different. It may involve a child who is not fitting in to school life. Maybe self-esteem is low or social skills are lacking. The need is for the child to grow in a sense of self-worth and readiness to overcome challenges. That way the experience of school life will be more positive and successful.

Mentors do not go in as advocates for Christian faith as such. However, the school is aware that they are trained by a local organisation that links churches to schools, so there is a Christian ethos in the background. If the child happens to raise issues of faith, these can be discussed.

A prime inspiration for Christian mentors is the apostle Paul. Paul mentored a younger man, Timothy. He was preparing him to take on something of his mantle as an overseer of church life.

… I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,  which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you (2 Timothy 1:6-14 ESV)

Join me in suffering … join me in not being ashamed. This guidance that Paul gives to Timothy is real mentoring. He is not just giving him advice – though there is plenty of that in this letter. He is actually inviting Timothy to imitate him. Paul, nearing the end of his life and ready to suffer the ultimate penalty for his faith, is consciously passing on the baton of leadership to Timothy.

Paul treats the younger man as a true colleague and not a junior that who has to be lectured from a great height. They are fighting together, side by side, contending for the gospel. That is the respectful way in which Paul treats those who are around him. It is important to any mentor that he takes the same attitude.

I was once on the receiving end of a mentoring exercise. It was an experimental process called "accompanied self-appraisal". The mentor was supposed to accompany me in achieving a particular goal for that year of my ministry. Unfortunately it didn't work out. The man became sidetracked into censuring me for various attitudes which I held that he didn't agree with. As a result the whole process became a waste of time and the mentoring relationship came to an end.

Even though mentoring a child is a different matter, I hope I will learn from Paul to be a respectful person, accompanying the youngster on the journey as a supportive encourager. There are many in desperate need of a boost to their self-esteem in this day and age when other students can so easily put them down by a cutting remark. The Lord Jesus typically sought to build up rather than tear down. May I be like my Master, who has always been my best mentor.

These Boots were Made for Walking

Over the last few weeks I have been in training to become a walk leader with our local walking group. I’d never have envisaged doing that when I first moved to Wiltshire. Certainly I hoped to join a group. I had been part of one in the North West and had seen the benefits. There were also walks with friends at church. But leading anything connected with physical fitness was a different matter. Equally unnerving was the thought of taking responsibility for a group with mixed abilities and medical conditions.

However, the need was put to us, along with assurances that we did not require technical qualifications. There was a day’s training - very informative and helpful - and some mentoring, and then finally the day when you led a walk on your own.

My progression towards becoming a serious walker has made me think about the equipment required. A key element of this is suitable footwear. Discovering what is suited to you is a hit and miss operation. The hiking boots I started out with had been dependable companions for more years than I care to remember. Yet they probably leak now and are decidedly yesterday’s fashion. Faced with leather, they are quite heavy and hard to clean. Most present-day walkers wear a different type with a suede-like appearance. These are much lighter, but they don’t necessarily have as good a grip in challenging conditions.

No doubt it will all eventually be sorted. The encouragement is to know that my involvement with walk leading will be good news. It will be good news for the other leaders, who can draw up a rota knowing that there is at least one other person to share the workload with. And it will be good news for the walkers, who can set out assured that there is someone out in front who has walked the route already and can tell them what to look out for.

Repeatedly in the Bible, good news of salvation is likened to an announcement set on foot by a welcome messenger.

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns” (Isaiah 52:7 ESV)

The picture calls to mind a runner bringing news of a battle. As the people in the city see him approach, they notice he is a lone runner. This is not a straggling group of forlorn survivors, which would betoken defeat. This runner has a spring in his step. He announces victory, unmixed with any sad tidings. He announces peace after a time of conflict and anxiety. He announces happiness; there can now be a joyful feast. He publishes salvation - the power of the enemy has been broken and captives have been set free. The God of Israel, not the gods the enemy boasted of, now reigns supreme.

Of course, this all anticipates that key piece of the Christian’s armour, the footwear.

“… as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15).

Fortified by the good news of Jesus Christ, at peace with ourselves and with God, we can fight the good fight with confidence.

Not only you, but many who look to you as an example and an inspiration, will benefit from your having the right footwear.

Be Reconciled ... and Reconcile

This past week has seen some hard things said among politicians. One incident in particular seems to have led to physical injuries.

It led me to notice a fascinating point that was made in Sunday morning’s Our Daily Bread notes. There were two men in Jesus’ team of disciples who normally would not have had a good word to say to each other.

Simon the Zealot had a background as a freedom fighter. Bitterly opposed to the Roman Empire, he would have gone to extreme lengths to cast off the Roman yoke from the Jewish province, Judaea.

Matthew, on the other hand, had left his work as a tax-gatherer at Jesus’ call. Such men were hated in the land. Agents of the Roman power, they collected taxes on their behalf and were allowed to milk their victims for a bit extra that they could keep for themselves. You can imagine Simon looking daggers at Matthew and wondering what on earth Jesus meant by calling him to be a member of the team.

And yet, says the writer of the article, they seem to have got on. There is no evidence of any blazing rows erupting between them. What a fascinating example of reconciliation!

It is a mark of true Christians that they are reconcilers. This causes them to be different in a way you would not normally think about. I once had an interesting conversation with a church pastor who had come from a non-Christian home. His recollection of life there was that nobody seemed able to disagree nicely. Whenever there was a difference of opinion it always seemed to lead to a shouting match. Now the head of a Christian household, the pastor was glad and relieved to be part of a family that modelled a different approach. Problems were calmly, rationally and Christianly thought through and peaceable solutions reached.

For the apostle Paul, becoming a Christian means no longer looking at other people from an earthly point of view, regarding them, as he says, “according to the flesh”. We no longer – or should no longer – jump to hasty conclusions about them. We seek reasons to be at peace with them rather than to be at loggerheads, to bring about agreement rather than dispute.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:16-20 ESV)

If you really want your life to be a compliment to Jesus, be a reconciled and reconciling person every day!

Dream no more

Outside the guest house where I stay in North Wales there is a large model yacht pond. Few but enthusiasts seem to use it for sailing model boats, but I have long itched to own a remote controlled one and sail it on this expanse of water. Being able to direct it from the shore, I would be safe in the knowledge that it couldn’t be becalmed in the middle, unable to be retrieved!

I had little idea, though, what it would be like to be at the controls of such a craft. One day recently on a visit to the Channel Islands I spotted my chance to find out. You could hire a model boat and its controls for a minimum of 15 minutes and sail it on a pleasure lake in one of the local gardens.

It came as a surprise how stressful the experience was. The man whose boat it was warned me not to sail it too close to the edge of the lake or anywhere near any overhanging branches where it could become entangled. Even with a small craft like that, backing out of trouble took several agonising seconds as the propellers cancelled their forward momentum and went into reverse. During that quarter of an hour of achieved ambition the danger of getting the boat snagged up in some obstacle was a constant worry. Staying well clear of all the pitfalls, there was little room for manoeuvre! The whole experience became a grim battle to both keep the boat safe and yet live out at least something of a spirit of adventure. Fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity.

As a result I will be much less inclined to rush out and buy a remote-controlled model boat when my next visit to North Wales approaches. There is a strong sense of “been there, done that” … and been left underwhelmed by the experience. What a disappointment! My long-nursed sense of ambition has fallen totally flat.

How should I react to this? Perhaps I should take a lesson from good old King Solomon in the Bible book of Ecclesiastes. He had a bash at everything that he thought might give him a sense of fulfilment - pleasure through acquiring wisdom; pleasure through wine, women and building projects; pleasure through a little bit of foolishness. His conclusion was the same for all of them:

So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:17-19, ESV).

Solomon could respond in a number of different ways. He could abandon himself to despair and cynicism. On a quick reading of Ecclesiastes it may seem he has done just that. Yet his way is to take a new and more constructive approach. Right at the end of the book, he sees that everything has significance because it comes under the judging eye of God. It is therefore worth living in a way that God judges to be worthy.

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Luke 17:10).

Returning Home

I am preparing to pay a visit to my home island of Guernsey, Channel Islands, this week. The event brings into play a strange set of feelings.

On the one hand, Guernsey is special because it is my birthplace and the place where I grew up. My parents and I left there in 1971 when I was 18. Like many people I have become more patriotic since my move than when I was a resident! I still cheerfully stick up for Guernsey - especially when the traditional rivalry between Guernsey and Jersey comes into play.

On the other hand, the act of moving on is two-sided. I have moved on, but so has the island. Of course, much of the landscape will be familiar and so will many of the buildings - give or take the successive coats of paint each will have received in the past 45 years. Even among the people I knew, a fair few are still around.

I value lasting friendships, especially with island Christians. It was on the island that I came to know Jesus as my Saviour, with their help. During the Spring before I left, I went to a conference for workers with young people. An awkward so-and-so at the time, I let it be known that I thought prayer and conversion were childish ideas. A minister rounded on me - it was the first time anyone had ever really challenged me - and pointed out that my thinking was just like any old Western philosophy; I did not think the way God’s word, the Bible, did. I felt humbled, indeed crushed.

Down-to-earth believers in the Deaf Christian Fellowship that my mother attended had already been breaking down my resistance for some time. Their homespun truths were filling in some of the tragic gaps there were in my understanding. Their simple remedy for unbelief was to trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Saviour. I knew I would have no peace until I did just that. It was a turning point. As well as being born there, I was now born again there!

Thus I indirectly owe to Guernsey my place in heaven. I’ve been glad to go back from time to time and celebrate that with believing friends. Yet in other respects my status now is that of just another visitor from the Mainland. No doubt one can spend a very happy retirement in Guernsey, but it would be quite impracticable now for me to consider putting down roots there once more. Home is elsewhere.

A Psalm speaks of the specialness of Zion to God’s people:

On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
the LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God.
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush —
“This one was born there,” they say.
And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself will establish her.
The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.”
Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”

Psalm 87 ESV

It is easier to settle in some places on earth than in others. But in the end the Christian’s home and identity are with his or her Saviour in heaven.