Last Night It Really Hit Me……….

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my daughter’s School Carol Service.  It took place in the lovely old St Chad’s Church in Poulton Le Fylde and most of the service was an absolute delight.  Only the previous evening I had attended the St John’s College Carol Service in Durham Cathedral, a much bigger affair in a much grander location and yet both services moved me in different ways.

Last night’s service was truly memorable with the always excellent Hodgson School Band at the top of their game and some delightful singing from the school choir and the soloists.  Musically the service was superb.  The readings too were varied and well done on the whole; all were read clearly if one or two seemed a little rushed.

There was, however, a problem with the prayers.  The actual words were lovely and they were led with great sensitivity by the vicar; it was the response of the congregation that gave me pause for thought.  One set of prayers had a congregational response and it gradually dawned on me that only about a dozen people (out of around two hundred) were making that response.  Then came the Lord’s Prayer, mumbled by most, unsaid by some.

Then it really hit me, just how secularised our society has become, how much the influence of the church has dwindled, how little most people know or understand about the Christian faith in Great Britain in 2011.  They didn’t join in the prayers because they were too embarrassed, or didn’t know how to or perhaps denied the existence of the God we were praying to.

It hit me how big a task we have as Christians.  There are millions of people in this country who not only do not know Jesus Christ but who have never had the chance to hear about him.  God loves them more than they will ever know and they either deny his existence or think he is no longer relevant.  Their lives are poorer because of their lack of knowledge and they have not received the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus.

It hit me what a truly godless society we now live in.  A society where vile pornography is freely available on the internet.  A society where dishonesty is rewarded with vast riches. A society where those at the top grow wealthier whereas those at the bottom are crushed underfoot.  A society where sexual immorality is seen as normal.... I could go on but I believe that our twenty first century society is sick and needs healing; and the only one who can heal our society is Jesus Christ.

It hit me that our society needs Jesus Christ, perhaps more than it ever has before.  If we love Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour we must share that love with others; because if we who are Christ’s followers and disciples do not tell others about him then who will?  We are not all called to be evangelists, nor given evanglistic giftings, but we can all share our faith with our friends and neighbours; we can all life a life that is pleasing to God and definately counter-cultural in today's society: we can all take a stand and say enough is enough, that we want to see our society return to Christian values and honour the God who created absolutely everything that ever has existed or ever will exist.

God is calling you right now to give yourself to him fully, to repent of any remaining sin in your life and to serve Christ as his faithful soldier and servant.  Will you heed his call, will you rise to the challenge of working with God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to our broken and hurting society?  Will YOU do it?