The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Youth

['George Matheson was born in Glasgow, the eldest of eight children. He had only partial vision as a boy. By the age of twenty he was completely blind. When his fiancée learnt he was going blind and that there was nothing the doctors could do, she told him she could not go through life with a blind man. He never married.\nHe was helped by a devoted sister throughout his ministry. She learnt Greek, Latin and Hebrew in order to aid him in his studies. Despite his blindness, Matheson had a brilliant career at the Glasgow Academy, University of Glasgow and the Church of Scotland Seminary.\nWhen he was forty years old, something bittersweet happened. His sister married. Not only did this mean that he lost her companionship, it also brought a fresh reminder of his own heartbreak. In the midst of this intense sadness, on the eve of his sister’s marriage, he wrote one of the most popular and best loved hymns of the Christian church – ‘O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go’. He completed the whole work in five minutes and never edited, corrected or retouched it. ‘This came,’ he wrote, ‘like a dayspring from on high.’\nO Joy that seekest me through pain,\nI cannot close my heart to thee;\nI trace the rainbow through the rain,\nAnd feel the promise is not vain,\nThat morn shall tearless be.\nTroubles are part of life. Jesus faced trouble and so did the apostles, David and all the people of God. However, as Matheson’s hymn beautifully articulates, troubles do not have the last word.', None]

George Matheson was born in Glasgow, the eldest of eight children. He had only partial vision as a boy. By the age of twenty he was completely blind. When his fiancée learnt he was going blind and that there was nothing the doctors could do, she told him she could not go through life with a blind man. He never married.

He was helped by a devoted sister throughout his ministry. She learnt Greek, Latin and Hebrew in order to aid him in his studies. Despite his blindness, Matheson had a brilliant career at the Glasgow Academy, University of Glasgow and the Church of Scotland Seminary.

When he was forty years old, something bittersweet happened. His sister married. Not only did this mean that he lost her companionship, it also brought a fresh reminder of his own heartbreak. In the midst of this intense sadness, on the eve of his sister’s marriage, he wrote one of the most popular and best loved hymns of the Christian church – ‘O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go’. He completed the whole work in five minutes and never edited, corrected or retouched it. ‘This came,’ he wrote, ‘like a dayspring from on high.’

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.

Troubles are part of life. Jesus faced trouble and so did the apostles, David and all the people of God. However, as Matheson’s hymn beautifully articulates, troubles do not have the last word.

In 2007, a group of twenty-three South Korean missionaries were captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They were terrified. The Taliban separated the group, isolated them and confiscated their possessions. One of the Korean women managed to hold on to her Bible. She ripped it into twenty-three pieces and secretly gave each of them a portion so that wherever they were, each person could read a part of Scripture when no one was watching.

The group knew that the Taliban had decided to kill them, one at a time. One by one the missionaries surrendered their lives again to Jesus saying, ‘Lord, if you want me to die for your sake I’ll do it.’ Then the pastor said, ‘I’ve talked to [the Taliban] because they are going to start killing us and I’ve told their leaders that if anyone dies, I die first because I am your pastor.’ Another said, ‘No, because I also am a pastor and I am your elder. I die first.’

Then the pastor came back and said, ‘You are not ordained, I have been ordained, I die first.’ And sure enough, he died first. Two were killed before the rest were eventually rescued. They had demonstrated extraordinary loyalty to God and to each other.

Loyalty is a combination of love and faithfulness. It is a quality often lacking in our society today. Disloyalty destroys families, churches, businesses, political parties and even nations.

['In 2007, a group of twenty-three South Korean missionaries were captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They were terrified. The Taliban separated the group, isolated them and confiscated their possessions. One of the Korean women managed to hold on to her Bible. She ripped it into twenty-three pieces and secretly gave each of them a portion so that wherever they were, each person could read a part of Scripture when no one was watching.\nThe group knew that the Taliban had decided to kill them, one at a time. One by one the missionaries surrendered their lives again to Jesus saying, ‘Lord, if you want me to die for your sake I’ll do it.’ Then the pastor said, ‘I’ve talked to [the Taliban] because they are going to start killing us and I’ve told their leaders that if anyone dies, I die first because I am your pastor.’ Another said, ‘No, because I also am a pastor and I am your elder. I die first.’\nThen the pastor came back and said, ‘You are not ordained, I have been ordained, I die first.’ And sure enough, he died first. Two were killed before the rest were eventually rescued. They had demonstrated extraordinary loyalty to God and to each other.\nLoyalty is a combination of love and faithfulness. It is a quality often lacking in our society today. Disloyalty destroys families, churches, businesses, political parties and even nations.', None]

['Back in the 1960s, the band The Monkees sang about how no one seemed to believe in absolute morals anymore. In Shades of Gray they sang:\n        When the world and I were young,\n        Just yesterday.\n        Life was such a simple game…\n        It was easy then to tell right from wrong…\n        Today there is no black or white,\n        Only shades of gray.\nNow the expression ‘shades of grey’ has come to be associated with the notorious and controversial books and films with that name.\nMany today no longer believe there is such a thing as absolute right or absolute wrong. Stark contrasts and black-and-white distinctions are not always easy to swallow in a society in which relativism is the order of the day. Everything is relative – a matter of degrees.\nAs followers of Jesus we cannot give in to these relativistic ideas. We must be open to the prophetic voice of Scripture, which often traces stark contrasts, urgent ethical choices and diverging paths in the midst of complex problems and situations.\nThe reality of right and wrong are very clear in today’s passages and there are stark contrasts between the two.', None]

Back in the 1960s, the band The Monkees sang about how no one seemed to believe in absolute morals anymore. In Shades of Gray they sang:

  When the world and I were young,

  Just yesterday.

  Life was such a simple game…

  It was easy then to tell right from wrong…

  Today there is no black or white,

  Only shades of gray.

Now the expression ‘shades of grey’ has come to be associated with the notorious and controversial books and films with that name.

Many today no longer believe there is such a thing as absolute right or absolute wrong. Stark contrasts and black-and-white distinctions are not always easy to swallow in a society in which relativism is the order of the day. Everything is relative – a matter of degrees.

As followers of Jesus we cannot give in to these relativistic ideas. We must be open to the prophetic voice of Scripture, which often traces stark contrasts, urgent ethical choices and diverging paths in the midst of complex problems and situations.

The reality of right and wrong are very clear in today’s passages and there are stark contrasts between the two.

['John Wimber, the US pastor and pioneer of the Vineyard movement, had a huge influence on the church around the world. He died at the age of sixty-three. Life had often been extremely difficult for him.\nHe had been subject to an outrageous amount of criticism. I remember him once saying to me, ‘Notoriety is fun for a short time, but after that it is just hassle.’ But perhaps what broke his heart more than anything was the fact that three of the men who were closest to him, whom he loved and treated as his sons, all fell into temptation and moral failure.\nGod used John Wimber in extraordinary ways, but he and his team faced many trials and temptations. This is how life is, and the Bible is not at all naïve about it. Usually, as we emerge from one battle, there is another one around the corner. This is the challenge of life.', None]

John Wimber, the US pastor and pioneer of the Vineyard movement, had a huge influence on the church around the world. He died at the age of sixty-three. Life had often been extremely difficult for him.

He had been subject to an outrageous amount of criticism. I remember him once saying to me, ‘Notoriety is fun for a short time, but after that it is just hassle.’ But perhaps what broke his heart more than anything was the fact that three of the men who were closest to him, whom he loved and treated as his sons, all fell into temptation and moral failure.

God used John Wimber in extraordinary ways, but he and his team faced many trials and temptations. This is how life is, and the Bible is not at all naïve about it. Usually, as we emerge from one battle, there is another one around the corner. This is the challenge of life.

['Steve Sjogren wrote a book called Conspiracy of Kindness. He started a church in Cincinnati, Ohio, that grew rapidly to an average attendance of over 7,000. Their motto is, ‘Small things done with great love are changing the world.’ They carry out random acts of kindness like paying for a stranger’s coffee or writing a ‘thank you’ note to a shop assistant.\nKindness is love in work clothes. Showing God’s love in practical ways, they have discovered the power of kindness to effect positive change, both in their lives and in the lives of people around them. Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change. When kindness is expressed, healthy relationships are created, community connections are nourished and people are inspired to pass on kindness.', None]

Steve Sjogren wrote a book called Conspiracy of Kindness. He started a church in Cincinnati, Ohio, that grew rapidly to an average attendance of over 7,000. Their motto is, ‘Small things done with great love are changing the world.’ They carry out random acts of kindness like paying for a stranger’s coffee or writing a ‘thank you’ note to a shop assistant.

Kindness is love in work clothes. Showing God’s love in practical ways, they have discovered the power of kindness to effect positive change, both in their lives and in the lives of people around them. Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change. When kindness is expressed, healthy relationships are created, community connections are nourished and people are inspired to pass on kindness.