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Re-vive<br />
We are not meant to live in isolation. We are made to live with others.<br />
When the passengers on board the flights heading for the World Trade Centre<br />
disaster knew they were heading for destruction, many phones their families<br />
and loved ones. That’s who we want around us when life draws to a close.<br />
Most of us don’t want to be on our own. Why? That is how we were made.<br />
You may find yourself lying on beach somewhere warm this summer, or perhaps<br />
enjoying a walk or a lovely sunset away from home. But holidays come to<br />
an end, and we come back home - to our families and to our neighbourhood.<br />
Our community is where we live out our lives, where we bring up our families,<br />
where we build friendships and root ourselves. The kind of community we live<br />
in is therefore crucial for the quality of our lives. That’s why the last two edition’s<br />
of Impact have included sections challenging us to consider what qualities<br />
we want to see in our community.<br />
I wonder if you’ve ever considered what God thinks about this subject? The bible<br />
is full of divine wisdom on this subject - advice left for our benefit. For instance,<br />
Jesus made it clear that he loves to communicate love to the poor; heal<br />
the broken-hearted; set free those bound by addiction and abuse; release those<br />
imprisoned by the darkness of poor choices (Luke 4). This manifesto of caring<br />
for the marginalised has always been the mark of caring communities and is<br />
something we need to see more of in our area.<br />
If we’re honest, many of us find it is easy to see Jesus’ words applying to<br />
others, but not to ourselves. The bible is clear, however, that we should always<br />
examine ourselves before putting the spot-light on others. That means we need<br />
to ask how we are poor, broken-hearted, addicted and imprisoned. We in the<br />
west are materially rich and yet are often morally, emotionally and spiritually<br />
poor, compared with others. Our lives and relationships - with others, and God -<br />
are often deficient and purpose-less. What’s the answer?<br />
The answer is re-vival. Revival is when the flow of God’s life does not remain<br />
just with one person, one family or one church, but bursts out into the wider<br />
community. Historically there are many examples of this happening - both in<br />
this country and in others. The results are often startling, with neighbourliness<br />
increasing, relationships improving, crime decreasing, addictions being beaten<br />
and churches filling, as people discover in Christ purpose, meaning and<br />
direction in life.<br />
‘Revive us, O Lord’ is a wonderful prayer for the community. ‘Revive us’.<br />
‘Revive me’.<br />
Matthew Porter<br />
St Chads Church, 9 Linden Avenue, Woodseats<br />
email: office@stchads.org<br />
Tel: (0114) 274 5<strong>08</strong>6 Page 18 web site: stchads.org
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