Thought for the week

LAST Sunday we celebrated St David’s Day, remembering one of the early Celtic saints and the influence he had upon this nation by spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Wales has been, itself, a great influence upon parts of the world. I once had the opportunity of travelling to S Korea and to N E India.

In both places the mere mention that you live in Wales makes you a hero and invokes celebrity treatment. Everyone knows where Wales is. That’s because the first missionaries to those countries came from here. In Korea Robert Jermain Thomas was executed but not before he had passed on a copy of the Bible. In Mizoram (India) the people will tell you that they were headhunters (and I’m not talking in the business sense) 150 years ago. Now it is a peaceful place, the gap between rich and poor is small, no-one goes without, and there is a real sense of community because 85% of the population are Christian.

Donald Trump became president of USA on the promise of making America great again. What makes a nation great? Contrary to popular belief it is nothing to do with having an Empire. That just means you’re stronger than others,can overpower them, lord it over them and from them.

No, Jesus said that if you want to be great you must become the servant of all and he illustrated it by washing the feet of his disciples. Wales is celebrated in far off lands because missionaries were prepared to give their lives in sharing the greatest good news on the planet. I long for the day when Wales becomes great again. get rich