‘Life would be easy if it weren’t for other people’ is the title of a book by Connie Pedesta and Vicki Sanderson. I haven’t read the book, but the sentiment expressed in its title made me smile, for I often feel that way. It’s the same feeling that we have when asked how we are and we reply, ‘I’m alright; it’s everyone else who’s wrong!’ People can be so difficult to fathom and relationship problems can cause so much heartache, in the church as much as in the world. The picture we have of church as God’s family where love reigns supreme has to battle with the reality of sinners living alongside each other who often struggle to forgive, understand and love. Eugene Peterson writes, ‘Church is the textured context in which we grow up in Christ to maturity. But church is difficult.’ (‘Practise Resurrection’, P 11) That’s because church is made up of sinners saved by grace, people who are all learning together and who are growing into maturity.

Paul concludes his letter to the Corinthians by writing about a variety of other people, whom he loved in the Lord. Some of these we know a little about from other parts of the Bible (Timothy, Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla all feature in Acts and two of Paul’s letters were written to Timothy); others we know very little about (Stephanas and his household, Fortunatus and Achaichus, for example.) The truth is that the majority of Christians will never be well-known or famous; we will never be ‘household names’ to millions. Nonetheless, this final chapter of 1 Corinthians (like the last chapter of Romans) is a great encouragement to the ordinary person, seeking to live life to God’s glory.

Stephanus, Fortunatus and Achaichus are mentioned as having refreshed Paul’s spirit (1 Cor 16:18) and being deserving of recognition and honour. Stephanas and his whole household are commended for their devotion (addiction!) to serving God’s people. (1 Cor 16:15) Timothy is as dear to Paul as if he were his own son and entrusted with valuable work, deserving of respect, not contempt. (1 Cor 16:10-11) This insight into people show us Paul’s love and respect for people and remind us of the truth that everyone is valuable.

No church can afford to ignore the people who are its members. Church is a living organism, described through different metaphors throughout the Bible: a body (1 Cor 12:12-27, Rom 12:4-5), a spiritual house (1 Pet 2:5, Heb 3:6), a temple (1 Cor 3:16, 1 Cor 6:19-20), a building (1 Cor 3:9), a field (1 Cor 3:9), a bride (Rev 21:2), an army of soldiers (2 Cor 10:3-5, 2 Tim 2:4), a family (Matt 12:49-50), a flock (1 Pet 5:2) and a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1 Pet 2:9-10). The New Testament is adamant, however, that church is not the building where people meet (despite our dictionary definition of church as this!); it is a group of people who are called out from darkness by God into His wonderful light, into fellowship with Him and each other and into a life of holy, dedicated service. God’s plan is for His people to shine His light into the darkness and to demonstrate His character to a world which is lost without Him. The individuals who make up church may never be well known or famous by the world’s standards, but we can be sure that each will receive a reward from God for whatever good we do (Eph 6:8, Heb 11:6) as we labour faithfully for Him.

At the end of 1 Corinthians 16, Paul signs off by mentioning grace and love: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.’ (1 Cor 16:23-24) This letter contains probably his most famous passage on love (1 Cor 13), and it is significant that he talks about those who do not love the Lord being cursed (1 Cor 16:22), since for Paul, love is the ‘most excellent way’ and must guide, direct and motivate all we do. It’s not enough to do good if our motivation is not right, and love – God’s selfless agape love – has to be the source from which all actions flow.

It is also significant that Paul ends this letter, as he began it (1 Cor 1:3), by mentioning grace. Grace – that rich, undeserved favour God lavishes on us – defines our whole relationship with God. We are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). Alexander Whyte said, ‘Nothing can change, or alter, or turn away sovereign grace.’  We don’t have to earn God’s favour, but we simply receive it through the work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Every letter ascribed to Paul in the New Testament concludes with a mention of grace:

• The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (Rom 16:20)
• May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor 13:14)
• The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. (Gal 6:18)
• Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. (Eph 6:24)
• The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. (Phil 4:23)
• Grace be with you all. (Titus 3:15)
• The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Philemon 1:25)
• Grace be with you all. (1 Tim 6:21)
• The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all. (2 Tim 4:22)
• The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (1 Thess 5:28)
• The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (2 Thess 3:18)

Grace and love are the defining characteristics of Christianity. They give hope to all and enable us to face the trials of this world with steadfastness and stability. We are not defined by our perception of ourselves, by other people’s judgments or by the accusations of the enemy, but by the grace of God which wraps itself around us, carries us, heals us and restores us. That totally spontaneous gift from God to mankind – generous, free, totally unexpected and undeserved – becomes our spur and motivation to live as God does, distributing love, mercy and grace to all we meet. No wonder we so often need adjectives to describe this grace! – amazing, outrageous, unbelievable, astounding, magnificent, unstoppable! May our eyes ever be open to the grace of God and our hearts ready to receive His love, but may we then ever be willing to pass on that grace and love to others as the true evidence of His reality in our lives.

Update from Compassion:

“Our Haitian staff and church partners have been working tirelessly to distribute food, water and hygiene kits. Some of our staff members have gone above and beyond, personally arranging the distribution of extra clothing and supplies in the places where the need is overwhelming. Temporary shelter has also been provided for families whose homes are deemed unsafe.

Please be assured that we have not received any news on Bedline or her project which is a good sign that all is well. Our colleagues in Haiti have informed us of all the children who have been affected now and we have contacted those sponsors, therefore we can confidently say at this point that her and her family are well and were not affected by the hurricane. We would only hear if a child has been affected in some way.”

Joseph Lister is known as the ‘father of antiseptic surgery’, developing antiseptic solutions which treated wounds after surgery which thereby reduced the number of deaths from post-operative infections caused by microbes invisible to the human eye. We are used to the many signs in hospitals nowadays urging us to wash our hands with antibacterial solutions to avoid spreading infection inadvertently through touch, so it is hard for us to imagine the battle he had to make people believe infections could be prevented through such a simple procedure as washing hands.

Washing hands is so commonplace today that it is hard to comprehend just how many lives were lost in times past because of a simple lack of hygienic procedures. Yet we continue blithely with our spiritual lives, failing to realise that there are evil spiritual forces as invisible but as deadly as invisible bacteria, seeking whom they may devour.

God has given us the ‘antiseptic protection’ we need to defeat these spiritual forces and avoid spiritual infection, but just as we must physically do something (wash our hands in antibacterial soap) to avoid physical infection, so there are spiritual practices we must do to avoid spiritual infection.

1. Give thanks. This simple practice (1 Thess 5:18, Eph 5:20) is easily overlooked when facing trials. By giving thanks in all circumstances, we acknowledge God’s sovereignty, love and care and look for His deliverance and protection, rather than relying on our own strength.
2. Love Jesus, not the world. When we love God, our priorities are shifted and we learn to value eternal things above material and temporal things, protecting us from the enemy within (sin), the enemy around (the world) and the enemy above (the devil) – see 1 Jn 2:15-17.
3. Love God’s people. Natural infection often leads to isolation to avoid the risks of infecting others. It is easy to believe that isolation from other Christians is the answer to the problems we often face, but God’s way is never to withdraw from fellowship, but to seek the more excellent way of love (see 1 Cor 13.) Other Christians protect and strengthen us from being drawn away from Christ, offering challenge, support, encouragement and fellowship.
4. Be washed in God’s word. Eph 5:26-27 reminds us that God’s word as a cleansing agent, washing us so that we will ultimately be presented to God without any stain, wrinkle or blemish, ‘holy and blameless.‘ Though God’s word may sting us like an antiseptic (see Heb 4:12), it has power to lance the poison of sin from our souls and keep us clean and free from infection.
5. Pray continually. By keeping the channels of communication open between us and God, we are able to access all the resources and power of God Himself. We are not alone in our struggles, but have a helper who is mighty to save!

We have just received a letter from Bedline, though it is not clear if this was written before the hurricane or not; we are still waiting for further news about the impact of the hurricane on the area in which Bedline lives.

In her latest letter, Bedline writes about her friends at the project, Magna and Nelson, Samantha and Rosemarie. She is looking forward to Christmas and enjoys decorating for that season. It’s good to be able to pray not only for Bedline, but also for her family and friends, who are also supported by Compassion. As we think about Christ’s advent in Bethlehem, we are thankful that we can make a difference to one child in Haiti and thank you all for your faithful support.

Compassion is running a free online Advent calendar which gives further information about the work they do and gives stories of the children they are helping. Behind each door of the Christmas advent calendar, you can discover brand new stories from Compassion-supported children, inspiring videos and fun activities. Why not have a look?

It has been a privilege to spend time with Fredrick and Reeba this weekend and week, planning for our missions’ trip to India. Last night, the eight of us who are going to India had a meal out with them and began to make more definite plans for what we will be doing out there:

Our time there will involve visiting a number of different churches, speaking to pastors and women’s groups, visiting the tailoring programme and orphanages and also visiting people (especially Hindus who may be afraid to come to church but who are seeking God) in their homes. Fredrick and Reeba have kindly visited people while they are here, praying for those who are not well and who need God’s healing and help.

It has been good to talk about life in India in order to prepare ourselves for the trip. Bangalore is a city of 9 million people (London’s population is just under that) and Fredrick has spoken of the differences between ministry in the city and in rural areas (which the team hopes to visit during the second week.) Indian values are very family-oriented and British influence can still be seen there (they drive on the left and their electricity supply runs on systems adopted from the UK), but of course, the Christian population is in a minority compared to Hindus and Muslims and there can be real opposition and persecution to Christianity.

During their stay, we tried to show them some of our local history, taking them to York, where we had lunch at Betty’s, a very famous tea shop with Yorkshire and Swiss roots:

… as well as educating them about York’s ‘chocolate history,‘ including the influence of the Quaker families Rowntree, Cadbury and Fry in running a successful business whilst pioneering revolutionary care of the workforce (instituting pensions, holiday pay, sick pay and accommodation which included leisure facilities.) Garry was particularly impressed with the notice giving the health benefits of chocolate (!) and Fredrick and Reeba enjoyed decorating chocolate lollipops, telling us that chocolate is not particularly popular in India, with sweets and cakes being made there in abundance, but not chocolate.

We also showed them some of York’s famous churches, including York Minster, first opened in the 7th century, so an iconic landmark in York’s history.:

Please pray for Fredrick and Reeba as they continue to visit friends and family in the UK before returning to India next week where they, like us, will be busy with plans for Christmas celebrations and outreach. Pray for them as they plan for our trip in April and for us as we save money, pray and prepare for our visit there. We have given them a financial gift to help purchase more talking Bibles and sewing machines for the graduation in January and are looking forward to being able to partner with them in their different ministries in Bangalore and beyond as we go into 2017.