Where can we turn for stability?
2016 was a year of significant change, in the NHS, in the UK and across the world. Doctors, nurses, managers and patients are frustrated, frightened, determined to be heard. Social media is awash with memes; people turning to humour to make the best of their unease and uncertainty. What else can we do when life seems to make no sense? Who can we trust?
The man who sat next to me in a fast train in China started chatting. He wanted to know what I was doing in his country – was I just a tourist or here for a purpose? My response surprised him:
“I have come to remind people that all faiths whether religious, social or political must be evidence based. Too often people’s belief’s come largely from their family or environment.”
He replied,
“That’s very interesting! I’ve been brought up as an atheist but it does leave me with big problems such as what is ultimately the purpose of my life, why do I mess things up by making stupid decisions and why do I feel guilty over things I have done wrong. I wish I had a faith that could stand up to investigation. I get blown around all over the place because I have no firm convictions about life. Where do you think the answers lie?”
What a joy it was to be able to explain that stability in life comes from a stable! I explained that I had become a Christian at university when I was convinced that Jesus, a child born to poor parents in a stable, must be the person he claimed to be – the one and only Son of God who had entered this world to resolve mankind’s deepest problems. The rebellion against God that cuts us off from his presence has been forgiven by Jesus’ death on the Cross. He has taken the penalty for us if we accept it.
We went on to discuss the evidence that Jesus is the chosen king of God. He is prophesied about so clearly in the Jewish Scriptures, he claimed to be God, he performed extraordinary miracles which his enemies confirmed, he rose from the dead after three days and so convinced his disciples that they were willing to die on his behalf. Jesus’s teaching answers the deepest questions in life and following him does change people’s lives for good. Such evidence confirms Christian faith is evidence-based truth. My recent book ‘Stepping Stones to Faith’ outlines this evidence and is available on Amazon.
Stability in life comes when we base our lives on the rock of God’s truth – the fact that the child born in a stable over 2000 years ago really is God’s one and only Son and that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Belief in him is not something that happened years ago. It is an everyday business. In medicine we apply tests to corroborate our theories. Two good tests of my spiritual status is:
In my daily morning prayers am I grateful for Jesus and am I asking to be of use to him that day by being given opportunities to point others to him.
Another test is how much do I talk about my Saviour to others who need him?
Jesus taught:
“Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:26-27
Our society is becoming increasingly unstable and everybody needs to recognize the identity of the person who was born in that stable if they are to be saved for eternity.
“God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12
B.V.Palmer
