Key Issue

I have a friend who is for ever making one line style remarks that are a commentary on life. One of his more recent quips was that, every key represents a worry. It's true, a key is a way of protecting something that we own and by virtue of that it is something we have to be concerned about. If not I would never lock my house and soon I would be sharing it with squatters or some one would have relieved me of it's contents ! This comment rings even more true in our possession rich Western life, we have all sorts of things that are ours to worry about and protect with keys or passwords. Just stop and think how many you may have.
There is though a flip side to this, as if you had no worries and therefore no keys you would also have far less freedom - a thing that we value very highly in our society. If you had no car you would be reliant on walking or public transport. If you had no house of your own you may not be able to live where you want or conversely end up living somewhere you hate. Imagine you had to pay all your bills in cash and had to walk to the place where you paid them. Clearly there are some worries worth having.
Being Lent and as I am studying the faith of William Wilberforce in my Lent Group I started to consider this point in the context of his position. Keys , I think are more responsibilities than worries. We are responsible for our car, house, shed, bicycle, credit card, online account e.t.c. How we manage our responsibilities speaks volumes about us. My wife is constantly loosing her car keys and often won't bother to lock the house. Her security is that I will lock the house and that I will find her keys.
Some people in this life, either by birth or choice find themselves with responsibilities that they can either choose to ignore or worry about. William Wilberforce was such a man. As a minister for Parliament in the British government of the late 18th, early 19th century he was well aware of the extent of the slave trade. As a Christian he was also well aware of what his faith told him about slavery and how to treat people. This created a responsibility-the abolition of slavery- as he was in a position to make change. This responsibility just like others came with a choice. Just like a person with a house key he could choose to lose the key and ignore this issue, which would have been a very easy thing to do or pick up the key and try to unlock the issue. Unlocking the issue would be hard and very unpopular, but ultimately right.
Every day as Christians we are faced with responsibilities and forced to make choices that either define us in our faith or deny that we have one; some times on small issues and some times large ones. When Jesus decided to accept the responsibility of death on a cross for our sins that was a huge worry for him. But in seeing that through he trusted us with one small worry, remember me. Remembering Jesus and knowing about him lets us understand our faith and the love that God has for us. Jesus is the key to the Christian faith, he can unlock the Love of God. This is a love that comes with responsibilities but just remember, next time you lock your house or start your car or unlock your bike, that if you have the responsibility you also have the key.

Peace Dave

Good Opportunity

There is a lot of talk about slavery at the moment, partly because it is the anniversary of William Wilberforce and partly because slavery has not completely stopped. The Lent course that I have signed up to looks at the underlying Christian values that Mr William Wilberforce adhered to and asks can we make use of them today as Christians ourselves. For those of you that don't know William Wilberforce is credited with changing the political opinions of the British Empire about slavery. Certainly in his time he stood up and said some radical things that definitely went against the grain of the times.
It would have been all too easy for Wilberforce to have sat back and accepted things as they were, as many of his contemporaries must have done. Many others may have agreed with him but never had the opportunities that Wilberforce had to make change. Straight away there's a lesson, you can only do what you can do. Not every Christian can be Mother Theresa or William Wilberforce, you can only do what you can do. That's not a cop out though or an excuse either. What you can do, you should do and do with all your heart. Everyone is blessed with their own talents and abilities, all that is required is the right opportunity. This Lent try to be open to opportunities, what ever they may be and when ever they occur, then challenge yourself to do something good.

Peace Dave