A radically positive agenda

The worst of lockdown seems to be easing. Next week it’s going to be back to school for some more children and teachers in Sheffield, back to the shops, back to the football (thank the Lord!) as we steadily begin to return to how things used to be.

But is that it?

We have lost some things during this time: employment, education, opportunity, even loved ones. This season has revealed some fault lines in British society and stirred up some very strong feelings around equality (like how some of our more socially deprived children have missed the most schooling), around opportunity (like how the under-30s job insecurity means the financial squeeze has hit them worst) and racism.

Do we really want to return to how everything used to be?

Can we find a more positive outcome, can we be brave and think carefully about the kind of society we wish to build after the chaos of 2020 subsides? Who will take the lead

I have chosen to follow Jesus and let the Christian faith shape my everyday choices and outlook. It produces a radically positive agenda.

As a movement leader, Jesus knew that positive change requires disruption: and usually that hurts a bit. 2000 years ago Jesus spoke into a racially divided, socially stratified, military oppressed society. He didn’t preach insurrection or violence. His approach came in the opposite spirit to the status quo. Yet if we take it seriously, it will provoke a revolution nonetheless. Jesus spoke a positive message: inclusion, fighting injustice, love for brother and sister and the humility to know that we’re all equal before God and each other, and we’re all equally in need of salvation.

Ultimately, Jesus’ message is one of reconciliation between humanity and God. A path to forgiveness for our sin and stupidity that builds a wall between us. When that happens, people are driven not by competition but by redemption: working to make things better than before.

Jesus says, “I have come in order that you might have life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10)

May we echo Jesus’ moto as we build for the future.

Image source ATD.