Vicar’s Views - May 2008

The view was from a few hundred feed up, through some trees, and across Minehead bay to the Butlins ‘Skyline’, which looked like a cross between a large marquee and the Millennium Dome, and which was home for the week for the 5000 folk at ‘Spring Harvest’. Five days of worship, teaching, and relaxation - very enjoyable. But on this rare sunny and mild morning I had ‘skipped classes’ and gone for a walk up this wooded hillside. With my trusty penknife always in my pocket, my eye spied a suitable looking straight length of branch on a fallen tree, and I set to work to whittle myself a walking stick (as you do !). In the next hour, as I cut and pared and smoothed, I thought about the business of creating and being created, and about the Creator himself and us, his handiwork.

Three things struck me. Firstly, I noticed what a long time it took me to cut the stick I wanted away from the rest of the dead tree before I could make it into something useful. I remembered that the Bible has something to say about that in relation to the Christian life too, and how quick we are to hang on to our ‘old ways’ (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Secondly, I thought about how God shapes the lives of his followers. Unlike the stick, which had no choice but to yield to my clumsy knife-strokes, our Christian formation is a partnership between us and the Creator, and the tool that is used is not a celestial penknife, but God’s word - the Bible. it is even referred to as a ‘sharp’ tool (Hebrews 4:12)

Thirdly, as my hands grew tired from holding stick and knife, so the blade slipped and nicked a finger. The scratch and the drop of blood reminded me of the greater pain that the Creator has endured in the process of our formation - Good Friday pain. Blood has been shed for us, for which we thank God (Revelation 1:5b)

Pleased with my handiwork, and resting comfortably on my new walking stick I completed my walk. My pride was cut short as I rounded a corner and found the work of a far greater whittler than I (see picture !).

But I had enjoyed my time with God, there on the hill and at Spring Harvest, and was reminded of one more verse - Isaiah 40:31.

‘Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary’.

Stephen Hills