I spent most of 2011 and some of 2012 teaching on the importance of what we believe. Over the years I have come to see that what we believe really matters, not only in terms of our eternal destiny but in terms of how we live life on this earth. Belief has to fuel action and inform our life choices.

It’s easy to think that there is no connection between church on a Sunday and life during the rest of the week; this is a lie of the enemy. The media has made much of the fact that Islam involves the whole person and is holistic, but the truth is that Christianity too demands our whole lives, everything we are and have and long to be. What we believe shapes us, determines how we act, how we love, how we react.

“And I believe what I believe
Is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no, it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not
The invention of any man” (‘Creed’, Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LR2hFP1yb4

Belief is not academic in the sense that it is irrelevant to everyday life. It is personal, real, and affects everyday issues; it has to be ‘applied’. One of the GCSE courses studied at the school where I work is called ‘Religion and Life based on a study of Christianity’ and it looks at topical issues such as euthanasia, abortion, the media, conflict, marriage, divorce, sexuality and the existence of God. All these things are touched by God. If God is indeed ‘is over all and through all and in all’ (Eph 4:6 TNIV), then nothing we do can remain untouched by Him. Eugene Peterson says, ‘We live in a world where Christ is King. If Christ is king, every thing, quite literally everything and every one, has to be re-imagined, re-configured, re-oriented to a way of life that consists in an obedient following of Jesus.’ There can be no divide between the ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’, for everything is sacred to God.

It’s easy to think that God is only interested in the ‘big issues’ in life, and I’m not really sure that we need to pray about which pair of socks we put on in a morning (though I don’t think there’s any harm in that either!) But I am convinced that what we believe really matters and that we need to work hard at ensuring there is congruence between what we say we believe and how we live. If there isn’t, we run the risk of being called hypocrites and there is nothing worse than dissonance between what we say and what we do for causing stress in our lives. God has made us to be wholly committed to Him and our beliefs need simply to be a reflection of who we really are, in the secret place.

Perhaps the most surprising thing to me as I’ve reflected on the church and the importance people have played in my spiritual growth is the sheer diversity of humankind. I’m not simply talking about ethnicity or personality, though I’ve enjoyed learning about different basic personality types and often find these quite accurate (the Myers-Brigg personality test or the Enneagram, for example, offer insight into people’s temperament and can help us not only to understand ourselves but other people.) People ultimately just fascinate me!

When I was younger, I would get very frustrated with people who were different to me. I couldn’t understand them and my reaction either tended to be to feel demeaned (they were different so I must be the one who was wrong) or to feel superior (they were different so I had to be the one who was right!) I thought that God must have made a mistake in making us all so different!

However, over the years I’ve come to appreciate diversity and difference far more and I’ve also come to see that there can be unity even through diversity.

Paul talks about this in Romans 12:3-8 TNIV and 1 Cor 12:12-31 TNIV. Ephesians 4:4-6 TNIV says ‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.’ It is a mystery to us how there can be unity and diversity; we tend to think that the two are mutually exclusive. However, in the Godhead we see that three persons co-exist in one God: Father, Son and Spirit – not three gods but one God – and this becomes a pattern for unity and diversity.

Learning to get on with people is probably one of the hardest lessons of life. But as we see the value God has placed on each individual, see that we are all made in the image of God, see that we are unique and yet we all belong to this amazing family of God, we begin to glimpse something of the awesome purposes of God: ‘Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.’ (Eph 4:14-18 TNIV)
God’s aim is that we will grow to be the mature body of Christ, ‘no prolonged infancies among us’, as the Message version puts it. Neil Hudson has commented that God has recruited us to His cause, rather than the other way around. His goal is our maturity and our conformity to the image of Christ. Let’s press on towards that goal, knowing that each one of us has a vital and unique role to play.

After a long wait (to us), the new Phil Wickham album (‘The Ascension’) finally arrived in our house today! I am always encouraged by songs which focus me on truth that looks beyond the now. I spend a lot of time meditating on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 TNIV: ‘Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ This song helps to remind us of God’s sufficiency in sustaining us through the tragedies and difficulties of life and of the hope we have in Christ.

“When my heart is torn asunder
And my world just falls apart,
Lord, You put me back together
And lift me up to where You are.

When the age of death is over
And this world has been reborn
I’ll be there, beside my Saviour,
This is our great and rich reward.”(‘When My Heart is Torn Asunder’, Phil Wickham)
‘When My Heart is Torn Asunder’, Phil Wickham

Sir Isaac Newton said, ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’, a phrase which has come to mean “one who discovers by building on previous discoveries”. Yesterday we acknowledged the importance of people in God’s creation and one of the things I soon discovered in my Christian life was the importance of the church. We are not meant to ‘go it alone’ in this faith but are part of a body.

That body is universal (the Apostles’ Creed reminds us that we believe in the ‘holy catholic church’ – see ’Church’ for further thoughts on that) and we can learn from so many others of faith throughout the ages. Today I’d like to pay tribute to the many ‘giants’ who have helped me in my walk with God.

Some of these are famous, well-known, probably people who may also have helped you, for their influence has been great. The ones who have shaped my thinking, my understanding, my beliefs and my spiritual walk are obviously people in the Bible – Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Samuel, Esther, Ruth, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Mary, Timothy and so on.

But there are other people throughout history who have helped me: people like Tyndale, Wyclif, Erasmus, Martin Luther, Julian of Norwich, Blaise Pascal, Cruden and Strong (whose concordances opened up the Bible before ever computers were invented!), John and Charles Wesley, Spurgeon, Florence Nightingale, David Livingstone, Gladys Aylward, Hudson-Taylor, William Wilberforce.

Then there are those more recently whose writings (either in word or song) or whose art have helped me on a daily basis: C.S. Lewis, John Stott, Alister McGrath, Billy Graham, Luis Palau, F.F. Bruce, Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Adrian Plass, Selwyn Hughes, Joyce Huggett, Richard Foster, Frank Peretti, Eugene Peterson, Brennan Manning, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, Charlie Cleverly, Tim La Haye, Timothy Keller, Louie Giglio, J.D. Walt, Gary Collins, Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, N.T. Wright, Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Hannah Dunnett, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Jeremy Camp, Michael Card, Michael W. Smith, Phil Keaggy, Wes King, Kristian Stanfill, Kutless, Aaron Shust, John Waller, Graham Kendrick, Chris Bowater, Rich Mullins, Adrian Snell, Aaron Keyes, Robin Mark, Phil Wickham, Casting Crowns, Third Day, Al Gordon, Ben Cantelon, Nikki Fletcher, Reuben Morgan, Brenton Brown, Paul Baloche, Brian Doerksen and Darlene Zschech, to name just a few.

But people who have influenced me can also be found much closer to home. There are the teachers who nurtured talent and encouraged me when I was young: Mrs Simpson, Miss Barron, Miss Shaw, Mrs Ross, Mrs Haigh, Mr Heald, Mrs McGinty, Mrs Larner, Mrs Mirfield, Miss Caswell, Mrs Kent, Miss Hardcastle, Mrs Armitage, Mrs Turner, Denys Potts, Richard Green, to name a few. There are the colleagues I have worked with over the years: Garrie-John, Mark & Angie, Dave, Paul, Ali, Sue, Su, Sue, Paul & Julie, Matthew, Mark, Rachel, Joanne, Mike & Julie, Jayne, Laraine, Sandra, Jane, Jackie, Bethan & Howard, Sarah, Moira, Sarah, Jeff, Andy, John & Jackie, Jacqui, Pat, Gareth. There are friends from my own schooldays and from university, too numerous to mention. There are Christians from all over the world, including Raymond & Jane, Ruth, Beate, Rahel, Jillian, Kate, Helen and Carin. There are also, of course, all those I have served alongside in churches: Steph, Phil & Sharon, Chris & Norman, Doreen & Tony, Dawn, Paul & Dawn, Beryl, Joy, Rick, Shain, Dawn, Richard, Pam, Colin & Glenys, Paul & Lily, Pete & Sue, Paul, Joy, Ellen, Malc & Ella, Dorothy, Connie, Shirley from previous churches and, of course, everyone who is such a vital part of Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church (I won’t name you all, but believe me, you are all spiritual giants as far as I am concerned!)

Closer to home are my family: my parents, aunts, husband and son whose commitment to God and to me give me a very strong sense of security and worth.

The thing about spiritual giants, however, is that most of them are unaware that that is how they are viewed by others. Mentoring may be a very ‘in’ concept nowadays (though the principle of getting alongside others and teaching them through doing is as old as the hills…!), but for most of us, we are completely unaware of the influence we have on other people. Even the ‘famous’ people on the list above who are consciously involved in ministering to others have not the faintest idea who I am or how their words and music and art comfort, inspire, nurture and shape my faith. We are all too aware of our own faults, failings and weaknesses to believe that we can ever inspire, teach or have a positive influence on others and yet the individual input of each person I’ve mentioned on my life goes beyond words. Not only do people matter: individuals matter and your input and influence matter.

To the above, I say a very sincere ‘Thank you’ for all the help, inspiration, strength and wisdom you’ve imparted to me over the years. At five foot two, I’m never going to be a giant in the natural sense of the word. But I pray that I may become a spiritual giant through standing on the shoulders of all these other giants.

This simple truth is so obvious that you may think it’s hardly worth mentioning. But I have struggled over the years to realise just how much God loves people and how important we are to Him.

So often, life seems to be made up of ‘to do’ lists. There are so many things to tackle in everyday life: shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, going to work and so on. Then there are all the things we clutter our lives with: books, DVDs, magazines, cinema trips, days out, gardening, DIY. All this stuff (remember Stephen’s sermon God Space from this April?) takes time and church can easily become just another thing on the ‘to do’ list. More worryingly, even God can become relegated to just another ‘to do’ thing!

If you’re like me, it’s easier to focus on the stuff than on God and on people. Stuff is controllable; people and God aren’t! Stuff can give us a sense of achievement and purpose. I love making lists and ticking things off the lists as I accomplish them. It makes me feel purposeful and as though I’ve done something meaningful with the day (O.K., most of the stuff on the list is basic and I’ve hardly climbed Everest, but it still sort of justifies my existence, if that makes sense…)

One of the things God has had to teach me over and over again (because I’m obviously slow in learning this one!) is that people matter more than stuff. Taking time out to listen to people is important. Spending time with people is important. People are more important than cleaning the house or going shopping or writing reports or … just about anything else on the ‘to do’ list. I learnt this lesson most powerfully through reading a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that said “We must be prepared to have God interrupt us.” (see Daily Interruptions)

People are messy. They have problems we can’t solve. They have different temperaments to us and don’t react the way we think they should. They are fickle, unreliable, often bad-tempered and frequently irritating. But people are also kind, compassionate, trustworthy, loving and forgiving. God loves people so much He gave His only Son to die for them (John 3:16 TNIV).

‘We should confess, we lose You in our busyness.’
‘Could it be that You would really rather die than live without us?’ (Michael Card)
‘Know You In The Now’/’Could It Be’, Michael Card

When we finally stand before God, I don’t think our ‘to do’ lists will mean very much. I don’t think He’ll care that much about our tidy houses or our pristine gardens or our academic achievements or our well-paid jobs. I think He cares about how much and how well we’ve loved people, because He is love.

I’ve never been one of the great and mighty, never worked for a multi-national company, never attended a mega-church. I’ve never lived in a huge capital city or felt comfortable in crowds. The big and bustling metropolis and the giant organisations which have slick marketing campaigns and jazzy slogans generally leave me cold. I’m a little person – literally and metaphorically.

That’s why stories like David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) mean a lot to me. Or the story of Gideon (Judges 6). Or the story of the little boy whose lunch feeds five thousand (John 6:1-13 TNIV). I like the fact that the Bible doesn’t just deal with the big things (armies, nations, battles and wars) but focuses on individuals and the role they play in the bigger picture. Psalm 131:1-3 TNIV is one of my favourite psalms: ‘My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.’

The Bible reassures me that God knows each one of us as individuals and cares for us by name (read Psalm 139 TNIV or Isaiah 43:1 TNIV if you don’t believe me.) It also reassures me that individuals can make a difference, however small or inadequate they feel in themselves. It declares that one with God can achieve amazing results: ‘One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.’ (Joshua 23:10 TNIV)

So often, we feel disempowered as individuals and disheartened as a result. ‘What difference can I make?’ we say. We feel there’s no point getting involved in our communities, in politics, in church life, in our work situations or whatever because we don’t think we can influence or change anything in these ‘bigger’ pictures. But history tells us a different story. History shows us that individuals can make enormous differences: Shaftesbury, Wilberforce, Mother Teresa, Francis of Assisi.

Goliath didn’t win. The young shepherd boy, scorned by his brothers and the runt of the family, triumphed where no one expected him to. Gideon became a worthy judge, despite his own self-image. The little boy’s lunch met a huge need. And we too can make a difference, not because of our own ingenuity or strength, perhaps, but because God specialises in working with individuals who are surrendered to Him. More and more I pray this prayer:“God, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am” and rejoice in the individuality of personality made by God.

‘Who Am I?’, Casting Crowns