Traditionally, November is a month for remembering. It begins with the invitation to “Remember…the fifth of November” and all that goes with that. Then, six days later, more widely and more seriously, we remember all those who fell in two World Wars. I suspect that the great majority of people are now rather vague about, or quite unaware of, the historical facts surrounding the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Furthermore, since the Second World War is now an event that ended before most people alive today were born the task of maintaining 11th November Remembrance as something meaningful to them is becoming increasingly challenging. But the wasteful folly of war and the sacrifice and suffering of those involved in war must never be forgotten. Have we produced a generation that is largely concerned about the present? If we live only in the present then everything, from coffee to information, has to be instant. The past fast loses its significance and the future – well who knows about that? But some apparently do! And we are being told there might only be a few years of future left! Will that make the past less significant than ever, and the present just a mess for which the older generation must take the blame? If that is so, will not our society become still more divided against itself, peace more hard to find, and moral and spiritual guideposts elusive or confusing?
The apostle Peter, writing in his second letter, brings us back to the foundation of our faith and the need to remember. He is concerned that we, his readers, do not forget the great truths of the gospel and the great need to be effective and productive in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.[1] Therefore he says: “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things”.[2]
Our nation needs to be reminded (or, in many cases, informed for the first time) of the truths and the power of the gospel. As Christians, we believe that God has given us the way to live, the way to peace and a clean conscience before him and the way to eternal life, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness”[3] Sadly, it is all too easy to forget these things. One of the reasons that Saffron Walden Bible Focus came into being was to make a small contribution to the great task that faces the church in every age to remind, to refresh the memory, to enable to remember the truth, the authority, the power and the grace of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Having now held our third event, I want to take this opportunity of thanking you for your involvement and encouragement, and to give God the glory for all that he has done. Let us, with confidence and prayerful dependence upon him, continue on together in this glorious and exciting task.
Tony Mason
(Chairman, Saffron Walden Bible Focus)
[1] II Peter 1:8
[2] II Peter 1:12-15 (emphasis mine)
[3] II Peter 1:3