Pushing the boundaries

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22: 6

For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. Genesis 18: 19

Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ Matthew 19: 14

I have just been watching and thoroughly enjoying a television programme called Race across the World.  Five couples left London to travel to Singapore using any mode of transport except flying. They were given only the price of two airfares to Singapore in cash and had no access to their credit cards or smart phones and they had to check into five checkpoints along the way.

It was fascinating watching them travel through Europe, all across Asia through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and into China before entering Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia then arriving in Singapore, 50 days after they started. 

Each couple knew each other well and they worked well together. However one couple – a father and his estranged 20 year old – had not been together for a long time. The most amazing part of the story was watching Alex, the 20 year old, change from a immature, self centred lad who easily gave up to a confident, charming and capable young man who had to carry his dad through one of the final parts of the journey when dad had a dreadful tummy bug.

It took two to bring about this transformation. First of all dad had to encourage him to ‘man up’ and stop being so feeble and then he had to let his son start making decisions on the route to take, whether they needed to work to earn more money and then haggling for the cost of the journey. Alex stepped up to the mark, making his dad incredibly proud and transformed his life. He now has the life skills to succeed in any field he chooses.

All this reminded me of the need to help our children and young people grow in life and in the Lord to be all that God has created them to be. It may well mean them having to face circumstances well outside their comfort zone, to deal with difficulties and not prop them up when things are hard.

Previous generations in our Western culture had to face all manner of hardships whether it was poverty, unemployment or war. Young men and women were catapulted from home to the battlefield or had to fight hard to get a job and climb the ladder to succeed. 

It is so important that we do not pamper and over protect our youngsters so they never have to face any challenging circumstances. It is no wonder we have such a highly entitled generation when their every desire is met, often straight away. Learning to wait, to save, to persevere in prayer and reading the Bible, to keep going when you are not the most popular person but you are doing right when everyone else is pleasing themselves are life skills of immense value. It builds character, perseverance and teaches resilience. 

Race across the World put the contestants literally in completely unfamiliar territory and culture. Letting our young people go on mission to unfamiliar countries and letting them pray and raise the necessary money are great faith builders. However there are training grounds much nearer to home; serving well at church or school, helping those less fortunate than ourselves or getting out on the street for evangelism or praying for healing are very challenging but faith building.

Putting faith into action is essential and preferable before young people leave home and face the fresh challenges of university or jobs. Strengthening the younger generation and not protecting them from difficulties and hardship, though keeping them safe is essential.  Our young people will thank us for helping them push their boundaries to fulfil their God given destinies.  

Praying in unity

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133: 1

As I wrote yesterday, the Body of Christ – the Church – has a high calling to dwell together in unity to bring about God’s incredible plans and purposes.  

I was reminded this morning that when we stand with others in heaven, either when we leave this life, or when Jesus returns, we will stand in perfect unity. Our focus will be on one thing and one thing only, our Lord and Saviour, the King of the Universe, Jesus Christ. 

Everything we do in eternity, and I firmly believe we will busy about the King’s business, will be for him and for his glory.  Our training ground is our life on this Earth. All that we have learned and accomplished here will be carried forward into eternity. Everything from our days on earth will be tested in his fire (1 Corinthians 3: 12 - 15) and those things that withstand the fire will be rewarded. Everything else will be burnt to ash. 

C S Lewis wrote If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. 

With this thought in mind, dwelling together in unity now, will yield incredible treasure in heaven.  It prepares us not only for our life in eternity but also brings about what God desires in our lives, churches and nations now.

Jonathan Edwards said When God is about to do a mighty new thing He always sets His people praying.

If there is one thing that Brexit has achieved in the Body of Christ in UK has been prayer. I do not think there has ever been as much prayer for the nation since the Second World War. However for our prayers to be truly effective we must ‘Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’ Ephesians 4: 3. 

The only way to do this when praying about this highly contentious issue is ‘to fix our eyes upon Jesus’Hebrews 12: 2.  When we focus on him, not on our wishes and opinions, I believe we will move closer and closer together and will find ourselves praying ever more effectively for his will and his Kingdom to come. 

Desiring and praying for God’s plans, laying aside our personal opinions on the subject, no matter how much we believe we are right, will release a mighty outworking of Kingdom power that will startle us, our nation, and the world. 

The unity of the Spirit

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4: 1 – 6

When Paul wrote these words to the church at Ephesus it was in the context of unity in the church between Jew and Gentile.  He was showing them how to live in the unity that God was calling them to.

Never have these words been more appropriate recently than in the UK where the country appears to be tearing itself apart over Brexit.  

Within the Church there are as many different opinions over Brexit as outside and no matter how much we believe we have heard from God, our attitude to those who may differ is vital. Having a condescending, superior, patronising attitude to those we disagree with will only reinforce divisions but the Church is called to live and work in unity. The Church in the land needs to model and show a different way and not join in the highly opinionated, wholesale anger and frustration that is so evident.

God has an incredible plan and purpose for the UK but it involves bringing his Kingdom and his will into the land. Brexit is part of that process but not the destination. The Church has a great calling to rise above the divisions and dissent and focus on the Lord and his designs. 

I don’t think any part of the Body of Christ does not earnestly desire God to move in sovereign power and bring revival to our land. All of us want to see loved ones saved. All of us, I am sure, long for God to breakthrough with miracle working power to bring healing, restoration and reconciliation but for our nation to benefit from this, it requires the Church to arise in unity; to deal with jealousy, personal and selfish ambition, to show love and grace to those we disagree with. The Brexit process is a great learning experience. 

Paul shows us the way. First we must be humble and gentle. That is a million miles away from the worldly sense of entitlement especially to personal opinion that is so prevalent. Being humble means considering others before ourselves, listening calmly even to things we would never agree with and not shoving our opinions, no matter how Biblical, down the throats of others even if they are trying to do this to us.  

Secondly we must be patient, a quality most of us struggle with. We want things now, we want our opinion heard and we get frustrated when others do not see the sense in what we are saying. The key here is prayer. God can change opinions, even our own, in a microsecond with his divine revelation. Asking God to intervene, to show us where we may be in the wrong and to grant us patience with others of different opinions, will achieve far more than half an hour’s carefully crafted argument, let alone ten minutes haranguing. This will help us bear with others in love.  

Finally Paul exhorts us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.This excludes loud arguments, flouncing, huffing and puffing and nasty looks. Instead we must focus our eyes on Jesus, looking to him to and trusting him to work out his plans and purposes for our lives, for the Church and for the nation. 

As the Body of Christ, we have a high calling to pray and bring in God’s Kingdom and will for our nation. But this will only be achieved as we model unity in the Church to the nations.

Father, I pray that you would show us the way of unity, to love those we disagree with and to be one, even as you are one. Forgive us for our jealousies and pride that drive divisions into your body and the nation and help us look to you who loves us all. We declare you have a high calling on United Kingdom. Show us how to participate through prayer and attitude in your plans. In Jesus Name, Amen.