The Vicar’s Letter: January 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

New Year’s Honours

  We are all familiar with the Queen's New Year honours list, which celebrates peoples’ significant contributions in life. But what would God's New Year honours list look like? Who are the people he chooses to honour?

  Psalm 1 gives us an answer to these questions. The person who is blessed by God is compared to a tree: ‘he is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers’ (3). They are strong and well-nourished, able to cope with drought and storms, while being fruitful.

  Will this be a true of us during 2010? By contrast, we can be more like bonsai trees, whose growth has been stunted. They are starved of nutrients to ensure that they are perfectly formed, but miniature in size. So often the church today resembles a bonsai nursery rather than a forest of mighty trees!  Like the bonsai, we are starved of nutrition. Instead, consider the alternative: ‘his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night’ (2).

  Here is the challenge for us during this coming year: to push our roots deeply down into his Word, meditating on it day and night. As we read and reflect on God’s word we are constantly reminding ourselves of God’s promises, character and acts.

  The psalm promises us that as we do this the Bible will become a real delight, rather than an experience of learning multiplication tables! As we learn to do it, it will delight us more and more, because it is the voice of a friend speaking to us. Obviously the devil doesn't want us to experience this! He wants to keep our growth as stunted as possible. So we need to build ways (eg use some sort of Bible reading notes) of keeping our roots in the Bible. Don’t forget that a recent survey found that one-third of people will have given up their New Year resolutions by the end of January, and only one in five will keep them to the end of the year.

  There will be times when our Bible reading doesn't seem to delight us, when it feels like a real slog! At such times turn back to Psalm 1 and remind yourself what the goal is: to grow into maturity, deeply rooted, drought resistant and fruitful. We will never get there unless our roots are deep in God's word.

  With e very blessing for the New Year.

  Yours in Christ

  Tony Vicar