Confident care, careful confidence

THIRTY FIVE years ago today there were peaceful demonstrations in the Philippines which led to the overthrow of President Marcos.

Already this year we’ve seen masses of ordinary people take to the streets to protest in Russia, Myanmar and India.

Meanwhile, we are all carefully staying at home. For the vast majority of us, protesting on the streets, or indeed any kind of mass gathering, is the last thing on our minds at the moment.

So I wonder, what is this doing to us politically? We’re all keenly aware that our social lives have been decimated, but what about our political involvement?

Where does the balance lie between safety and social responsibility?

If, for example, elections in May go ahead as planned, how much of the population would have to be vaccinated for you to go out and vote?

A key part of Christian faith is the promise of eternal life. Jesus offered those who believe in him a completely new quality of life.

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish,” he said.

We experience this life now, but it’s a mere foretaste of an unimaginably glorious life to come.

This faith and hope have often led Christians to take unusual risks.

For example, during the 1854 cholera outbreak in London, the 19-year-old preacher and pastor Charles Spurgeon said: “I will toil and visit the sick by night and by day, until I drop; and if the cholera takes me, sudden death is sudden glory.” This is certainly not to suggest that we should ignore Covid restrictions or flout the law.

But because we believe that our best life is yet to come, we Christians are able to care confidently for neighbour and for society, knowing that our lives are safe in God’s hands.

REV DAVID TAYLOR

Thatcham Baptist Church