Dear
Friends,
I’m reading a very
interesting book at the moment. It is called “Fix me; Love them.”
It is subtitled “Christianity as it should be.” It was written
by Matt Wells and the description of the book says: ‘So
often, as followers of Christ, we feel it is our calling to "fix"
people for God. But is this really the Christian life as Christ
intends? Is it really our place to judge, condemn, and mould people
into who we believe they need to be, or are we only to focus on
bettering ourselves, so that we may better love others?
I
suppose that this sums up my own attitude to religious faith and
that’s why I find it so attractive. However, it made me think
about what religion was for.
The
theme of the book as the quotation says is that the main object of
prayer and worship is the improvement of ourselves,
not judgment of others or an attempt to squeeze them into a mould we
think they ought to be forced into – an idea of Christianity that
we have and which we feel that everyone should adopt. In other words
to make other people just like us.
Our
job is just to love other people. We’re all made in the likeness
of God, which if we think about it means that we all – without
exception
– have the divine spark of life within us. The author maintains
that every action and every behaviour is governed by the need to be
loved and valued, however misguided that may be.
This
means that we don’t need to expend time and energy trying to
convert the world – an impossible task anyway, but that we should
tend our own garden. It may be that others will see in us an example
to follow and an inspiration for their own life. If that happens,
then all very well; if not, then God still loves other people,
accepts them and if he
wishes, may use others to inspire them to go in a different direction
to the one we have chosen to go.
Lent
begins on Ash Wednesday 22nd
February. Have you given any thought to how you will keep it? Are
you giving something up, or are you taking on something extra?
Whatever it is it needs to be an expression of your own personality,
in view of what I have just written.
With
all good wishes,
Geoffrey
From
the Parish Registers
Christenings
Ethan Jason Oliver at
Wolverley - 1st January
Funerals
Mollie
Turvey at Cookley – 6th January
Terry
Maiden at Wolverley – 12th January
Kate
Bagshaw (Cookley) at Wyre Forest Crematorium – 17th
January
Pauline
Coole (Sion Hill) at Wyre Forest Crematorium – 19th
January
Mandy
Partridge at Cookley – 27th January
