Redeeming a Nation (Timeless Teaching)

by Philip Quenby

  • The effects were felt far and wide: “The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become known everywhere.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).

  • Tales of what had happened returned to the apostle to encourage and strengthen him: “Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10).

  There were three components to the way in which the Christians in Thessalonica became a model to others: becoming “imitators of us and of the Lord”, persevering “in spite of severe suffering” and “[welcoming] the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6). Being a model and learning from others involves hard work: “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” (Hebrews 6:12). Douglas Bader certainly needed all his patience and courage as he learned to walk again. It was only possible after long hours of practice, frequent falls and severe discomfort as metal chafed against the stumps where once his legs had been.

  Bader was and remains an inspiration and a model just as the early Christians in Thessalonica were “a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia ... [and] everywhere.” (1 Thessalonians 1:7). Every single one of us is called to be a model to those around us, to inspire and influence, to teach, encourage and strengthen. We will never be able to do this unless we come close enough for people to know us, to see what we do and to understand why we do it. We cannot remain in a holy huddle, barricading ourselves against the world outside. We must go out and at the same time we must welcome people in. We must inspire and enable people to belong, so that through belonging their beliefs and behaviour might follow on behind.

  In the process of modelling belonging, belief and behaviour for others, we must never lose sight of the fact that all that we do and say is only possible through the work of God in our lives. Doing this should spark thanksgiving, prayer and remembrance as it did for St Paul:

  • Thanksgiving: “We always thank God for all of you” (1 Thessalonians 1:2).

  • Prayer: “We [are] always ... mentioning you in our prayers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2).

  • Remembrance: “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

  Thereby we will help ensure that we remain “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:1).

  Conclusion.

  Douglas Bader was a larger-than-life character and a war hero in classic mould. Perhaps his most lasting legacy, however, is in attitudes towards and treatment of the disabled. He showed that even those who had suffered the most severe injuries need not be consigned to a life of uselessness and dependency, but could aspire to great achievement. The pilot’s determination not to die caused him to rouse himself from his death-bed. His conviction that he could and would do again things that everyone told him could not be done caused him to confound all experts. He has left a tremendous example of how indomitable can be the human spirit.

  Many imagined that that all Bader had to look forward to following his crash was a lifetime of hobbling around on crutches, forever looking to others to provide for him, but it turned out that he had not been consigned to the scrap-heap after all. Like the early Christians in Thessalonica there was “work ... [and] labour” (1 Thessalonians 1:3) aplenty for him, for which he would need all his “endurance” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). The same is true for each of us, no matter how scarred and beaten up we are by life, no matter how much we have been disfigured or crippled by what we have experienced. Nobody is consigned to the scrap-heap by the Lord, whatever other people may say and think. There are important things for every one of us to do and worthwhile contributions that we each have to make. They may not always feel significant and valuable to us, but that is because we tend to reckon in the way that the world does, not like God. Faith, hope and love can work the same wonders in our lives as they have worked in the lives of countless others. It all comes down to inspiration and conviction.

  Instead of denying the inspiration within, we should give it free rein so that its breath becomes the mighty wind that God intends. We need to start speaking and acting with conviction instead of cowering in the corner as though we had a shameful secret. We must stop denying Christ and start to proclaim him.

  51. Bearing the unbearable

  Psalm 27.

  Key word: forgiveness.

  Allied troops captured by the Japanese during the Second World War suffered appalling brutality and privation. Years afterwards, one former POW told of his experience of working on the notorious Death Railway between Bangkok and Rangoon. It is said that a man died for every sleeper that was laid for its track.[115] Since this particular soldier was the senior officer in the prison camp to which he was sent, the Japanese would regularly beat him: for infractions of rules by his men, for failure to meet work quotas, or just because they enjoyed it. He described the awful, daily anticipation of yet another thrashing, of how time and again he felt that he could not stand it, but he knew it was his duty to suffer in order to prevent his men experiencing even worse treatment from their captors. Somehow he found the ability to carry on.

  Few are likely to experience trials of this kind, but it is rare indeed to find someone whose life is completely free of fear. Sometimes the fear is physical, but it need not be. Mental anguish can be just as dreadful. We all go through patches when it feels as though life is beating us up on a daily basis, and doing it just for the fun of it. In such times of testing, pain and stress, we need to find the resources to go on. Even better, we need to access the spiritual strength that King David had, so that he was able to write: “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident” (Psalm 27:3). It seems a tall order, but Psalm 27 helps us to understand how the shepherd boy turned king was able to do this.

  David’s experience.

  Lest we imagine that David was able to write in such an uplifting way because he had things easy, it is worth recalling some of the major events of his life:

  • Adult burdens were placed on his shoulders from the earliest age, as he was charged with caring for his father’s flocks and protecting them from wild animals: 1 Samuel 17:34-36.

  • He was misunderstood, insulted and belittled: 1 Samuel 17:28.

  • Whilst “only a boy” (1 Samuel 17:42) he was caught up in war between the Israelites and the Philistines, taking responsibility when every adult was afraid to do so and killing the formidable enemy champion, Goliath: 1 Samuel 17:40-50.

  • Still just a young man, he was driven into exile and subsequently hunted down by the Israelite king Saul, who wanted to kill him: 1 Samuel 19-21 and 26.

  • During this time, when he was almost constantly on the run and knew little security, his wife Michal was forcibly taken from him by her father Saul and given to another man, with David powerless to do anything about it: 1 Samuel 25:44.

  • He suffered severe illness (Psalm 38:3-10), had a child who died soon after birth (2 Samuel 12:13-19), a daughter who was raped (2 Samuel 13:1-21), a son who was murdered (2 Samuel 13:23-33) and another who rebelled against him and was killed (2 Samuel 15 and 18).

  • He committed adultery and murder, leading to appalling guilt: 2 Samuel 11 and Psalm 51.

  • He experienced the disappointment of not being allowed by God to build a temple to the Lord in Jerusalem: 1 Chronicles 22:7-8.

  Perhaps our collective memory of war is now receding, but David’s other experiences remain all too commonplace. We may not be exiled in the sense of having to seek refuge in a foreign land, but many know an internal exile that consists in estrangeme
nt from friends, family or colleagues. As for the rest – burdens beyond our years, misunderstandings, insults, sickness, family strife, disappointed ambitions, terrible hurts done to and by beloved children, the consciousness of our own sinfulness and its consequences each retain their grip on humankind. Whatever else, we can hardly say that David had an easy life. It was a life brim full of insecurity and fear, anger, pain, upset and regret. It is therefore important to understand how he could write as he did.

  The Lord is my salvation.

  The answer appears in verses 1-2 of Psalm 27, where he asserts: “The LORD is my light and my salvation ... the stronghold of my life ...” Both at the beginning and at the end of the Psalm he states his confidence in God: verse 3 says “I will be confident” and verse 13 repeats, “I am still confident ...”

  In short, David’s strength is founded on putting God at the centre of his life and trusting in him, no matter what may be happening in the world around. It is his confidence, or faith, that is the key. Verses 13-14 of the Psalm encourage us to wait patiently for something that will surely come (“I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”), even though we do not see it yet. Verse 14 tells us: “Wait for the LORD, be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

  The repetition of the phrase “wait for the LORD” is no accident and nor is it poetic licence on the part of an accomplished wordsmith. There are times when we do have to wait. We have to wait even though we are suffering in mind or in body or in spirit. Abraham had to wait beyond all reasonable expectation before God fulfilled the promise to give him a son by his wife Sarah: “after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” (Hebrews 6:15). It is during times of waiting that we most need to hold fast to faith. David looked beyond the troubles of the moment. Instead, in verse 4 he says that he seeks to “dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple …” This is the “one thing” that David asks of God (verse 4) because he knows that it is through this that he will:

  • “be exalted above the enemies who surround me” (verse 6);

  • “sacrifice [at the Lord’s tabernacle] with shouts of joy” (verse 6);

  • “sing and make music to the LORD” (verse 6); and that

  • “the LORD will receive me” (verse 10).

  He knows that the fundamental thing is his relationship with God and that everything else flows from this. He therefore looks beyond the earthly realm to the heavenly kingdom. Psalm 27 is a resounding statement of faith in the face of adversity. The misfortune that David confronts is no less real than the troubles we face day by day, for enemies surround him (verse 6), there is a real chance that even his parents may forsake him (verse 10), he faces oppressors (verse 11) and false witnesses rise up against him (verse 12).

  Psalm 27 makes it clear that the fact that the Lord is our salvation does not mean that we will be saved from all trials and tribulations. In fact, Christians might expect to suffer more than others, not less. The Bible reminds us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against ... the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12) and those powers certainly have an interest in attacking us, to weaken our faith and to divert us from fighting what St Paul calls “the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). So if it does not mean taking away all earthly trials and tribulations, salvation must mean something else. David explores this in the middle verses of the Psalm. Verses 7-10 picture the world of salvation as one where God will:

  • “hear my voice when I call”

  • “[be] merciful to me and answer me”

  • “not hide [his] face from me”

  • “not turn [me] away in anger”

  • “not reject or forsake me”

  • “receive me”

  The image is the very opposite of being godforsaken, of being abandoned by God in the way that is described in Psalm 22. The emphasis is on relationship with God. David does not allow calamity to turn him away from the Lord. He does not rail against the Almighty or blame him for what is happening. He does not reject him or try to work things out apart from him. Instead, he seeks greater closeness to the one who is his “light and salvation” (Psalm 27:1).

  Although salvation comes by grace through faith alone, David knows that we still have our part to play. It is for this reason that he says: “Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.” (Psalm 27:11). The word ‘ because’ in that sentence is a useful reminder for us: it is precisely when we are oppressed, by people or circumstances, that we have such need of being led by God, for in our sorrow and suffering it is so easy for us to take a wrong turning – away from God rather than closer to him.

  Psalm 27 explores David’s experience and reactions, but it speaks also of the experience of Jesus, who even in the agony of his crucifixion never lost sight of God as his salvation. This goes to the heart of the Christian message: that we can achieve forgiveness through Christ’s atonement on the cross and we can achieve salvation as a result of faith. Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). He was, and is, God made man for our salvation. Jesus died in order to free us from guilt, addiction, fear and death. He made forgiveness possible, bringing us friendship with God, the experience of his love and the power to change. Consequently, he liberates us to love, forgive and serve others and to become more like himself. These things are at the heart of the biblical understanding of salvation.[116] This salvation, love and forgiveness are not things that we could ever achieve ourselves. They are free gifts from God.

  Conclusion.

  Those taken prisoner by Nippon returned with harrowing tales of what they suffered in captivity. The health of many was broken by years of brutal treatment, malnutrition, disease and overwork. Many found it difficult to forgive the Japanese for what they had done. That is hardly surprising: they had seen friends beaten to death, bound with barbed wire and used for bayonet practice, pumped full of water and jumped on, or slowly starved to death. Each day they lived with what they called ‘rice balls’: the skin of the scrotum and inner thigh made painful and raw through lack of nutrients contained in the worthless shavings from rice, which their captors refused to give them. Forgiveness on one side has been in short supply and genuine regret on the other seldom evident.

  This makes all the more remarkable another story from those times, also true, but this time with a happy ending. John Baxter, a corporal in the Royal Engineers, was captured in Java in 1942. His final two years in captivity were spent labouring in mines in the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. There he and his comrades also suffered starvation, beatings and inhumane treatment, but found one guard was unlike all others. Hyato Hirano smuggled extra food rations made by his wife to the starving prisoners and excused sick men from work. Years after the end of the war the two met again. The former guard begged forgiveness from the former prisoner. Gradually, painfully, a relationship developed and, over the course of many meetings, they became friends. We can only imagine the hurt, anger and guilt they had to overcome as they journeyed together along the road of forgiveness, but eventually their relationship developed to a point where the former prison camp guard was able to confide what he had until then kept secret: the Japanese was a Christian.

  If these two could find forgiveness and friendship, so can each of us. If they could endure pain and hurt and at the end of it triumphantly proclaim through their lives a part of the forgiveness that God makes available to all, so can we. Forgiveness is one of the central planks of the Christian life. It is through forgiveness that we can help set ourselves free and unlock the full measure of God’s blessing in our lives and in our nation. We live in a land that groans under a welter of hurts and amongst a people who nurse untold grievances and sorrows. We will never truly salve these wounds and bring healing without love and forgiveness. The need for us to love and to forgive if we are to be made whole is one of the central
insights that Jesus taught: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44). “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 11:37).

  Life is full of fear and difficulties, hurts and upsets. David faced trials that would have crushed most, but was able to rise above them. The key was his relationship with and trust in God. It is not easy, but we need to keep our eyes on the real prize, the “one thing” that David talks about in verse 4 of Psalm 27. We need to do what verse 14 of this Psalm encourages us to do: “be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

  52. Living with evil

  Esther 3.

  Key word: constancy.

  One day a young Englishwoman named Christabel Bielenberg summoned the family doctor to her eldest son, who lay stricken with a fever. A little to her surprise, he spent the night helping look after the child, whose temperature had by morning subsided. As the man turned to leave, he asked if she still wanted him to be their physician. She had vaguely noticed that of late he seemed less busy than formerly but, tired as she was, did not at first grasp his meaning. Then he explained: he was a Jew, they were living in Hamburg in the nineteen thirties and the Nazis were in power. The paediatrician, dedicated and respected, had been warned of dire consequences if he did not cease contact with Aryan children and hand over his business to a non-Jew.