Remembering and Forgetting

When people enjoy (or endure) some fireworks and bonfires this year, perhaps very few will remember why it’s just now, writes Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall.

The passage of time has made the “Gunpowder Plot” on November 5th, 1605, to be forgotten. Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the House of Lords was discovered and foiled, and an Act of Parliament decreed that bonfires should be lit throughout the and every year to remember how serious it was! The Act was repealed in 1859 but that’s how the habit began.

This past weekend was also different. Communities across the country and abroad pledged not to forget but rather remember the sacrifice and bravery of so many in the cause of freedom over the years. No bonfires and no fun. Just quiet reflection, sadness, and thankfulness. War is dreadful. The price of peace should not be forgotten.

Six honest men!

One of the methods that I use to communicate the message of the Bible is a podcast. You can access it through my webpage - seekthetruth.org.uk. One long-running series I have recorded is called 'Life Questions'. It started when I was asked by a Christian radio station in Canada (Hope Stream Radio) to produce some material for them. People have many questions, and the Bible is the creator's (God's) book of answers. It is a unique book in that the men who wrote claim that they did not write of their own volition 'instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,' 2 Peter 1:21. This is why you will often read in the Bible, ' Thus says the Lord' or 'This is what the Lord says’ and it is why I suggest that this timeless volume is well worth a read.

Questions are the primary means of learning. Rudyard Kipling's famous poem, 'I Keep Six Honest Serving Men,' reminds us of the natural curiosity that is often most evident in children.

Peace in our times

Politicians and religious leaders spend a lot of time and effort attempting to bring 'peace in our times'. Lasting peace is elusive and impossible purely by human effort and ingenuity. Most people fail to see that if they don't deal with the underlying causes of unrest, the problem will never be identified, and peace will never be created.

Our approach to producing peace often fails to dig deep enough. Jeremiah, the ancient prophet of Israel, faced this shallow approach to peace. He wrote on more than one occasion, 'Peace, peace when there is no peace?' Jer 6.14, Jer 8.11. People then, as in our day, were looking at life in a very superficial way. They had treated the word of God with contempt by ignoring what it said. The reason there was no peace was the sinful lifestyles of people. The same is true today. We cannot expect to have peace when we break the moral code of God (as nations, families and individuals) and flagrantly ignore the principles that are for our good. Scripture says, 'Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people,' Prov. 14. 34.

October - A month of change

 

This month brings many changes, noticeable in October maybe more than in any other month, writes Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall. Daylight hours get less, mornings and evenings get darker. Fields become bare and brown, and gardens are losing their attractive summer colours. Fruit trees have been emptied of their bounty, but then the beauty of the autumn colours in the woods and forests is a special wonder while it lasts. The beginning of the month feels like a bit of summer, but the end of it can be like a cold winter’s day, big changes all in the space of a few weeks.

 

These changes in the landscape are predictable and beautiful in their own way, but looking round the political landscape at home and abroad things are not at all predictable. No one knows how all these conflicts, demands and proposals will eventually work out! Already they are affecting our daily lives, increasing the costs of fuel and other things.